The deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bo Li, said the agency plans to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC) handbook to guide countries in developing CBDCs.
Li pointed out that the idea arose from the heavy demand.
- The handbook will consist of 19 chapters and be funded mainly by Japan.
- The IMF aims to complete the guidance in four to five years.
- Li stated that the agency has negotiated with almost 30 countries requesting assistance over the past few years and contacted over 40 countries so far.
- The CBDC handbook will offer a foundation for the development process.
- The guidance will also be descriptive instead of prescriptive and offer information, experience, empirical findings, and frameworks.
- In assistance, the IMF will prioritize countries that track CBDC developments fast but have no strong regulatory standards.
- The IMF is the major financial agency of the United Nations (UN), with 190 member countries.
- In February, IMF's managing director Kristalina Georgieva said they were quite in favor of regulating crypto rather than directly banning it while speaking at the sidelines of the G20 meeting in India.
