The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently doing research on blockchain, Mr Tao Zhang, Deputy managing director of the Fund, told Armenia News – NEWS.am.

Transactions with crypto currencies remain terra incognita for financial regulators. At its Spring Meetings in 2017, the IMF held a first-ever discussion on fintech (including blockchain), with speakers from expert community and executives of financial regulators of major economies. 

“This is an important question. We are spending quite a lot of resources and paying attention to this topic. We’re still studying it, and a report is being prepared,” Mr Tao Zhang said.

Blockchain is a record of transactions, which is kept not by a regulator, but by the whole community of users. This makes the system stronger against fraud (as data is stored with multiple users). The cause for concern for state authorities, however, is that peer-to-peer transactions, bypassing the authority of central banks, make a breeding ground for shadow business.