BIS: Crypto Inherently Flawed, Will Never Become Money

• The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released a report to the G20 highlighting the “inherent structural flaws” in crypto that will prevent it from becoming money.
• The report acknowledges that there are some elements of genuine innovation in crypto, such as programmability, but says that it has “failed to harness innovation to the benefit of society”.
• Ultimately, the BIS believes that crypto is “unsuitable to play a significant role” as money in the world.

Bank for International Settlements Rejects Crypto As Money

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has pointed to “inherent structural flaws” in crypto as the reason why it will never become money. In a report prepared for a meeting of finance ministers at the G20, the BIS made it clear that they believe crypto has problems related to its “stability and efficiency,” while also mentioning a lack of accountability and integrity as inherent issues with cryptocurrencies.

Crypto’s Rise

The BIS report acknowledged crypto’s rise from being a “niche activity” to something that impinges on mainstream financial systems. Millions of retail users and institutional investors have entered into the world of cryptocurrencies over recent years.

Elements Of Genuine Innovation

The authors admitted that there are some elements of genuine innovation in crypto which include programmability of money and ways to automate sequences of financial transactions. The concept of programmability was something which was also mentioned in another BIS report on unified central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Failed To Harness Innovation To Benefit Society

Despite recognizing these innovations, the report said that so far, cryptocurrency has “failed to harness innovation to benefit society”. It argued that crypto remains largely self-referential and does not finance real economic activity – making it unsuitable for playing a significant role as money in the world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this new Bank For International Settlements report rejects cryptocurrency as an acceptable form of money due its inherent structural flaws related stability and efficiency, lack accountability and integrity which ultimately makes it unsuitable for playing any major role within our current monetary system.