IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva on crypto: „It’s not money, just an investment vehicle”

The US dollar is still the US dollar, and crypto is, well, just an investment vehicle, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told Yahoo Finance Live.

„Our view is that we have to differentiate between money and assets. When we talk about crypto, we are actually talking about an asset class. It could be backed up and in that sense, more secure and less risky, or it could be not backed up and therefore a riskier investment. But it is not exactly money. It’s more like a money management fund,” said Kristalina Georgieva.

Georgieva’s comments came mere hours before the SEC paved the way for the debut of new spot bitcoin-backed ETFs last week.

Despite the latest bitcoin hoopla, the IMF’s Georgieva doesn’t think the day is nearing that the crypto will rival the dollar in stature.

„Look, this day, if it exists, is so far in the future that I think it is not very useful to talk about it. Why is the dollar today a dominant currency? Because of the size of US economy and most importantly, the depth of the capital markets in the US,” Georgieva explained, comparing the dollar’s attributes to other key global currencies.

„So I, for one, am not in a rush to turn my dollars into another currency. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t, you know, diversify. But, I wouldn’t worry too much about [bitcoin rivaling the dollar]. There are things that make me lose sleep — that’s not one of them.”