IMF video on cryptocurrencies draws criticism from the community

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a two-year-old video about cryptocurrencies, drawing criticism from the community.

What are cryptocurrencies? https://t.co/ggONlLkA2r pic.twitter.com/yYpj3Jf37E

— IMF (@IMFNews) August 23, 2020

In a two-minute video, released back in June 2018, cryptocurrencies are described as the next step in the evolution of money. It does not mention the names of any particular coins, the blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrencies, or mining. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple appear only in illustrations of cryptocurrency transactions.

The risks cited by the video include “transaction anonymity.”

Representatives of the community noted a number of inaccuracies and omissions.

Provable scarcity is what makes Bitcoin interesting, you forgot to mention that.

— PierreRochard.com (@pierre_rochard) August 23, 2020

“Provable scarcity is what makes Bitcoin interesting; you forgot to mention that,” noted Kraken strategist Pierre Rochard.

Blockstream Chief Strategy Officer Samson Mow noted several inaccuracies in the video and added that anonymity is a feature, not a problem.

Then they talk about the “problems” of anonymity and untraceability. Those are features, not bugs. If they’re worried about “bad guys” making transactions, then they want a centrally controlled money.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 23, 2020

In his view, Bitcoin has already taken the next step in the evolution of money, so the wording “could be the next step” is incorrect.

“This could be the next step in the evolution of money.”

No, #Bitcoin already took that next step. By not talking about Bitcoin and educating people, you’re just keeping them bound to fiat in a new format.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 23, 2020

“No version of this technology from you will change anything for people, and it will be a centralized currency with mass surveillance.”

Another Reddit user under the handle nanooverbtc drew attention to a number of factual inaccuracies in the IMF video.

“They made so many mistakes, for example they called private keys passwords,” he writes.

Earlier in August, Grayscale Investments launched an advertisement on American TV promoting the firm’s cryptocurrency investment products.

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