IMF warns of crypto impact

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a warning about the growing risks in the expanding cryptocurrency space, including fraud, excess speculation and potential “runs” on seemingly more stable assets, in a report on Tuesday.

Crypto in all its forms has been spreading around the globe. Nearly half of the world’s central banks have looked into creating their own digital currencies, which would be centralized and be more secure than pure cryptocurrencies.

“Investor protection risks loom large for crypto assets and decentralized finance,” the report said in the executive summary document.

16,000 tokens have been listed on various exchanges like Coinbase, Binance and Kraken over time, but only around 9,000 exist today, the report said. Some of these tokens were purely speculative and impacted only by social media trends.