IMF seeks stronger crypto regulation

The Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva has stressed the need for comprehensive regulation in the cryptocurrency space to safeguard global financial stability.

Speaking at a digital currency conference in Seoul, on Thursday, Georgieva highlighted the potential threat posed by widespread crypto adoption, citing concerns about its impact on macro-financial stability.

Georgieva said effective regulation was essential to prevent disruptions in monetary policy transmission, capital flow management measures, and fiscal sustainability, particularly in the face of volatile tax collection.

“Our goal is to make a more efficient, interoperable, and accessible financial system by providing rules to avoid the risks of crypto, and infrastructure by leveraging some of its technologies,” Georgieva said at the joint conference with the South Korean government and central bank.

She added that, “Rules are not meant to return us to a pre-crypto world, nor to squash innovation.

“Good rules can spur and guide innovation.”

On the development of digital money, Georgieva said in a panel discussion that policymakers could either be part of it and help do it better or be left out of it because it would be done anyway.

A recent study from KuCoin found that 35 per cent of Nigerians aged between 18 and 60 were investing or trading in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.

In 2022, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission published a new set of rules aimed at regulating digital assets, signalling a potential change of attitude from the government towards the widespread use of cryptocurrencies.