- This decision was made by the Executive Board of the Fund
- Previously, he reviewed the cryptocurrency policy guidelines.
- One of them was the ban on the legalization of “crypto” as a means of payment.
- At the same time, the IMF says they do not intend to hinder innovation.
“Cryptocurrency should not receive the status of legal tender” – such a decision was made by members of the IMF Executive Board. Earlier this month, the foundation introduced document with the basics of regulatory policy regarding the digital asset market.
The mentioned paper contains nine guiding principles. They form the IMF’s policy regarding the cryptocurrency sphere. The principles address not only legal and regulatory issues, but also macro-financial factors.
Most of them were quite wide. But there are exceptions, for example:
“Money sovereignty and stability need to be protected. The status of a means of payment for cryptocurrencies should be abandoned in order to strengthen the foundations of monetary policy.”
And the IMF Executive Board agreed on this point. The meeting was held by the elected members of the fund on February 8, but both the document itself and the outcome of the discussion were published only yesterday, February 23.
In fairness, the Executive Council also rejected the idea of a total ban, as, for example, in China. Instead, it is recommended to apply “target limits”.
In principle, such a statement by the IMF did not come as a surprise. The Foundation has repeatedly criticized the authorities of El Salvador for the legalization of bitcoin. And even though the regulator admitted that some of the risks associated with this “did not materialize,” in general, it opposes such a practice.
