FOR ESSAYS GURU ONLY 41B

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After the gold standard collapsed in the 1930’s and resulted in the Great Depression, 44 countries met in 1944 in order to foster discussions regarding an international monetary system. A two prong solution was devised consisting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While the World Bank would “promote general economic development”, the IMF would “maintain order in the international monetary system” (Hill & Hult, 2017, p. 316). The IMF’s tasks would consist of controlling and managing the fixed exchange rates of countries’ currencies in order to maintain uniformity and consistency. This stemmed from the issue of gold having unpredictable value and the resulting devaluation of other countries’ currencies. Just over 60 years later and the IMF has seen a eerily similar issue resurge, only this time with cryptocurrency.            In September 2017, the managing director of the IMF Christine Lagarde, announced the IMF will be seeking to implement control measures for the unpredictable cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. As defined by the dictionary, cryptocurrencies are “a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank”. However, this new generation of cryptocurrency, i.e. Bitcoin, are not controlled by a central bank, thus are unregulated and anonymous. This is very concerning for many reasons. One reason is concern for lenders to cryptocurrency investors. Cryptocurrency, because of lack of central control, has erratic and unpredictable worth, making the loans incredibly risky. Another reason for concern stemmed from the lack of regulation is the anonymity of ownership making the currency perfect for money launderers as well as terrorist organizations. (Hagan & Mayeda, 2018). For these concerns, the IMF has ruled that there needs to be a meeting of the G20 to decide the terms for which this currency will be regulated.            The G20 is, “is an international forum that brings together the world’s 20 leading industrialised and emerging economies. The group accounts for 85 per cent of world GDP and two-thirds of its population” (Mustafa, J. 2017). The goal behind this meeting will be the plan for control measures that will be managed by policies implemented by the IMF for cryptocurrency. The request for the G20 meeting is due to the vast array of countries that well be affected by this regulation. Cryptocurrency can be traded by and for any country with connection to the internet. It poses potential for funding terrorist organizations or other nefarious groups to have a means for making profits as well as anonymously storing money. This meeting is essentially setting the regulatory “gold standard” for cryptocurrency.            There will be a few different results of this regulation. One result will be that this new currency will be a more regulated and viable form of currency. Cryptocurrency provides a much more efficient form of payment in a growing digital global market. This regulation will only add to that legitimacy and will lower investment risk for lending institutions as well as individual’s interested in investing in different cryptocurrencies. These benefits don’t come without possible risk. One big risk is that this regulation will cause significant financial issues for individuals, lenders and countries that currency depend or have significant capital invested in cryptocurrency. The sudden regulation will result in the removal of anonymity and lowering of current worth. However, the overall result will be positive as it will deter nefarious individuals or groups in the world and will foster new growth in the international market.ReferencesHagan S., & Mayeda, A. (2018). IMF Calls for Global Talks on Cryptocurrencies. Bloomberg Technologies. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-18/imf-calls-for-global-talks-on-digital-fx-as-bitcoin-whipsaws.Hill, C. W. L. & Hult, G.T.M. (2017). International business: Competing in the global marketplace (11th ed.). New York: McGraw:Hill.Mustafa, J. (2017). What is the G20 and How Does it Work? The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/0/what-is-the-g20-and-how-does-it-work/.