IMF and World Bank Found a New Way to Understand Crypto

The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) just started a project that might help both international institutions to better understand how digital assets could be used in real life.

The Bank/Fund launched a private quasi-cryptocurrency called “Learning Coin” in order to help their staff to familiarize themselves with digital assets, the Financial Times reported, citing the IMF.

This project will also help to bridge a growing knowledge gap between the legislators, policymakers, economists and the technology, according to the IMF.

World Bank and IMF staff will be able “earn” Learning Coins by achieving certain educational milestones, while developers are testing how staff can redeem the coins for some kind of rewards, the report added.

Last week, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF, said that digital assets are “clearly shaking the system.”

Meanwhile, in November 2018, she praised the advantages of cryptocurrencies by saying that crypto payments are “immediate, safe, cheap, and potentially semi-anonymous”. At the same time, she suggested that governments could set up their own cryptocurrencies. And some central banks are already working on it.

Also, deputy director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Dong He, previously suggested that since crypto may become a serious contender for putting banks out of business, they should forestall this by adopting some of the concepts.

As reported, commercial banks have already started to explore the nascent technology. Moreover, investment banking giant JPMorgan’s much hyped JPM Coin, the centralized digital token, may become something of interest for the broader audience.

The World Bank last year tested the blockchain technology by selling blockchain-based bond that generated “overwhelming” interest.