In its quest to promote the development of central bank digital currencies or CBDCs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents a guide in which it offers guidelines for the creation of this type of currencies. Its goal is to advance the development of “new payment options”, in clear rejection of bitcoin (BTC).
This is a guide aimed at public policy makers, central bank experts and finance ministries. The document will also serve as a basis for the IMF's collaboration with country authorities and interested parties in the development of this type of digital currencies, as explained by the organization in a message in Twitter.
Under the title “Virtual manual on central bank digital currency”, the guide includes a series of recommendations on the aspects that should be considered when launching a digital currency. The goal is “to share knowledge, lessons and frameworks to help guide policymakers as they explore, develop and implement CBDCs,” the IMF notes.
In this way, the organization clings to what has already been established in terms of centralized money, while moving away from options such as bitcoin that already have wide adoption around the world. In that sense, it would be easier for countries to use cryptocurrencies than to develop new currencies, especially taking into account the failures of projects such as Venezuela's Petro and Nigeria's eNaira.
However, in a first phase, the IMF makes the first 5 chapters of the manual available to interested parties, in which initial guidelines are offered. The topics of these first chapters are related to exploration techniques, management of CBDCs, and their influence on monetary policy and financial inclusion. Other chapters will be presented soon .
“Political objectives” as the first orientation
Among the main recommendations of the guide, the need to define “political objectives” stands out. They thus refer to the development of new digital payment options “backed by central banks” , and financial inclusion as “key” issues to opt for the creation of digital currencies.
For the IMF, CBDCs should not only be designed to replicate some of the desirable properties of cash, such as access to payments without a bank account, but should also offer low or no fees and less stringent identity requirements. This, in order to gain popularity among low-risk populations, who struggle to obtain formal identity documentation.
Even though it is not named in the manual, the organization refers to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies , which are the alternatives that currently offer these possibilities to the public. The difference in this case is that Satoshi Nakamoto's currency is not linked to the central bank or any government, giving users the possibility of using a decentralized type of money.
Despite these advantages, the IMF along with some governments and international organizations allege that cryptocurrencies do not meet their financial integrity requirements. Hence, they have spoken out on several occasions against the cryptocurrency ecosystem, warning that they are “high risk” investments.
Based on the popularity that bitcoin has gained, the IMF has launched a race to compete in the market with another type of currency that offers similar advantages. To do this, it has taken CBDC as its banner . To this end, it has been promoting its creation, not only through a large number of reports but also by offering advice to governments.
This is how, with the support of the IMF and other organizations such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), more than 100 central banks around the world are evaluating the launch of CBDC. All this, amidst the rejection of the majority .
