The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently issued new comments on cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger tech (DLT).
In a speech at a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting, Christine Lagarde talked broadly about how the IMF is seeking to combat money laundering and terrorist financing through financial technology.
She then noted that blockchain innovations could be both a defense against these issues, as well as a tool that enables them.
“FinTech can also help protect financial systems against cyber-terrorism. A good example is the distributed ledger technology that underpins virtual currencies and other applications,” said Lagarde.
The IMF suggested both digital currencies and distributed ledger technology have the potential to slash costs and improve speeds of financial services and “become a powerful tool for deepening financial inclusion in the developing world”.
“Of course, FinTech is a double-edged sword. It can be used to promote and fund terrorism, including through the anonymity of virtual currencies. But it can also be a powerful tool to strengthen our defences against the financing of terrorism,” Lagarde said. “This technology is less vulnerable to a single point of failure and could prove resilient to cyber-attacks because the ledger – or record of transactions – exists in multiple copies.”
Lagarde then highlighted a new research note the IMF issued, in which its researchers discussed topics including central bank-issued digital currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), among other concepts.
