According to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, a crypto ban should not be completely ruled out if it poses a greater risk to financial stability.
"We strongly support regulating the digital currency world," Georgieva said in an interview with Bloomberg , adding that it was a top priority for the Financial Stability Board (FSB), IMF and Bank of International Agreements.
“However, if regulation is slow to come and crypto assets become a greater risk to consumers and potentially to financial stability, the option of banning cryptocurrencies “should not be taken off the table,” said Georgieva, citing countries such as India, which have investigated the possibility. like it was in the past.
Crypto exchanges, risk proof centralized power in wallets: IMF
If there was more predictability and consumer protection, such measures would not be necessary, "but we are not in that world yet," the IMF chief added.
In its article last year, the IMF said that cryptocurrency regulation "should not be seen as a building of trust but as a stifling innovation."
Georgieva also said that "there is still a lot of confusion" about digital currencies and that the "main goal of the IMF is to differentiate between state-backed central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies - publicly issued assets and stablecoins".
According to him, state-backed stablecoins have "reliability" and a "sweet spot for the economy", while unsecured crypto assets are "high-risk speculative investments and not cash".
At the recent G-20 meeting in India, the organization's finance ministers and central bank governors issued a document recommending the creation of global regulatory standards for the industry, including stablecoins.
Regarding the document, Georgieva said that "crypto assets cannot be legal tender because they have no definition of money."
In a statement from a panel discussion held at the meeting, India's finance ministry said "there is an existential question whether crypto assets are indeed the best solution to the challenges facing the global financial system."