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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated its calls for regulation of cryptocurrencies in some countries, but said that a total ban might not be the best approach.
In a June 22 report on Latin America and the Caribbean, the IMF pointed to the different approaches of local governments to adopt cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. Bitcoin (BTC) has been accepted as legal tender in El Salvador since September 2021, and the Bahamas was the first country to launch its own CBDC, Sand Dollar, in October 2020.
The IMF said Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador, whose governments are regulating cryptocurrencies “in the process”, are among the countries with the highest levels of digital asset adoption to help those who are unbanked send faster and cheaper. payments and more. In addition, according to the fund, most central banks in the region “have or are considering adopting digital currencies.”
Related: IMF unveils ‘new class’ single ledger cross-border payments platform
“When properly designed, CBDCs can improve the usability, resilience and efficiency of payment systems and increase financial inclusion in [Латинской Америке и Карибском бассейне]”, the IMF said in a statement. “Despite the fact that several countries have completely banned cryptocurrency assets, given their risks, this approach may not be effective in the long term. Instead, the region should focus on addressing the drivers of cryptocurrency demand, including citizens’ unmet need for digital payments, as well as increasing transparency by recording cryptocurrency asset transactions in national statistics.”
The IMF has often made public statements against countries using cryptocurrencies as legal tender. On June 19, its director of monetary and capital markets, Tobias Adrian, proposed a payment system that would use a single ledger to record CBDC transactions—an idea that sparked a scathing criticism from many in the cryptocurrency space.