Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believes blockchain is revolutionizing the financial world, she said in an interview with CNBC on April 10 that took place in the 2019 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Washington, D.C.
Lagarde thinks that the latest innovations introduced in the financial sector by blockchain technology are having a very important impact on the industry and reshaping the system structure. According to her, such initiatives include JPMorgan Chase's decision to develop its own cryptocurrency as well as the European Central Bank initiatives to provide instant and cost-free value transfers.
She literally said:
"I think the role of the disruptors and anything that uses distributed ledger technology, whether you call it crypto assets, currencies or whatever — and it’s far from the Bitcoins we used to talk about a year ago — that is clearly shaking the system."
According to her, central banks and financial regulators are becoming aware of the real potential of the crypto's underlying technology, since it offers a lot of possibilities to commercial banks.
However, she has highlighted that even though this new technology can be very beneficial for the industry, we cannot forget that security and stability are essential, and therefore, innovations must not be implemented until we are completely sure they do not represent a risk for the stability and security of the current financial system.
Why it is important
- Lagarde has shown a positive attitude towards cryptos. In November last year, she said that central banks should consider the possibility of launching their own crypto in order to compensate for the decline in cash use.
- However, she has also critized crypto mining. In January last year, she said that this activity requires too much energy.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.