WASHINGTON—Count Christine Lagarde as among those who believe cryptocurrencies are disrupting the banking systems.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, in a conversation with CNBC, emphasized that to maintain stability both in the crypto space and the financial ecosystems, digital assets will have to start being monitored.
Lagarde said virtual currencies are forcing the commercial banks not only to amend their business models but to make them rethink the entire systems.
“I think the role of the disruptors and anything that is using distributed ledger technology, whether you call it crypto, assets, currencies, or whatever … that is clearly shaking the system. We don’t want innovation that would shake the system so much that we would lose the stability that is needed,” Lagarde told CNBC.
In the interview, Lagarde noted cash usage was decreasing in many countries, citing Sweden where now only 13% of transactions were still being done using cash.