© Reuters
Investing.com – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says it’s only a matter of time before central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are rolled out globally and in the U.S. .
“The future has arrived,” Ms Georgieva said. “Even in the United States, where the CBDC hasn’t garnered much interest for some time, there is now engagement.
Georgieva spoke at the Milken Institute’s 2023 Global Conference on May 1, where she addressed the opportunities and risks the IMF sees for CBDCs and urged financial leaders to consider the unthinkable.
“We have experienced a series of unthinkable events in recent years: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the rapid rise in interest rates after many, many years of decline”
“It is incumbent on all of us to anticipate shocks and be ready to act when they occur, because they are sure to come.”
Ms Georgieva said that whatever form they take, she has no doubt that CBDCs are the future and that the IMF has “rapidly increased” the number of staff working on CBDCs and other forms of digital currency accordingly.
“We know that’s where we’re headed,” she said. “There will be no turning back. Before the pandemic, we said the future was digital, and with the pandemic, the future has arrived.”
The IMF director pointed out that the organization surveys its members on this subject and that more than 110 countries “are at one stage or another in the development of CBDCs”. She added that the impact of central bank digital currencies on individual countries and the global economy will be profound.
“I can tell you that we will see a very significant transformation thanks to CBDCs”