What prevents states from issuing digital currency? Explained by IMF experts
Only 40 Central Banks in the world are officially authorized to issue digital currency. Central banks of 104 countries can only issue "real" banknotes and coins. And in the legislation of 27 countries there are no clearly spelled out rules regarding electronic money.
This is the conclusion reached by experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), having analyzed the situation in the world market of alternative currencies.
The concept of digital or electronic currency includes, but is not limited to, cryptocurrency (such as bitcoin), virtual currency, eCash and other types of electronic money.
Economists Catalina Margulis and Arthur Rossi report that in almost 80 percent of countries the issuance of electronic money to central banks is either prohibited, or there is no official permission for it, that is, it is not regulated by law. At the same time, many countries have recently announced their intention to issue a digital currency.
Experts explain why the use of electronic money by states is problematic from a legal point of view.
So, for example, in order to be considered legal tender, currency must be available to the majority of the population. That is, in the case of digital money, the population should have access to the "digital infrastructure" - smartphones, computers, the Internet.
And since the government cannot “force” citizens to acquire these tools, electronic currency can hardly get official state status.