IMF Chief: Banks Shouldn't Fear Bitcoin or the Blockchain

The chief of the International Monetary Fund told a group of bankers this week that they don't have much to fear from bitcoin.

AccessTimeIconNov 5, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 11, 2021 at 11:58 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Christine Lagarde, chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and finance minister under former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, said this week that banks don’t have much to fear from bitcoin or the blockchain.

The Financial Times reported today that, while speaking at a conference in New York City, Lagarde said attendees worried that the banking industry could be altered or rendered obsolete by the blockchain should "pause for a second".

"Many of you have heard about not only bitcoins but blockchains and that unbelievable technology that underlies the bitcoins of this world at the moment, and how incredibly convenient it will be to actually generate trust and identify players and whatever pseudo they decide to use," she said, according to FT. "And many of you in the industry are actually worried that those technologies are going to massively disrupt the current industry."

"Pause for a second," she is said to have told the bankers, continuing:

"If those new technologies, and as long as those new technologies are going to abuse, take advantage of, the yield for anonymity, I think the banking industry has quite a few good days ahead of it as long as it takes ownership of those issues of capital and culture in order to actually restore the trust without which you see no trade, no transaction, no business can take place.”

According to FT, Lagarde’s comments referenced a report by FT Alphaville’s Izabella Kaminska on the connection between the recent rise in the price of bitcoin and a suspected Ponzi scheme operating in Asia.

Lagarde has run the IMF since 2011, when she took over from Dominique Strauss-Kahn, another former French finance minister who resigned from the IMF in the wake of sexual assault allegations and an arrest in New York City.

Prior to serving as finance minister, Lagarde ran other French ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture.

Image credit: Gil C / Shutterstock.com

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.