Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and IMF Deputy General Counsel Ross Leckow were in Singapore on Monday 12. The two had an interesting conversation.
Leckow is very positive about Fintech and blockchain. We have never heard anything so positive come out of the mouth of the IMF before. He said:
“The IMF is devoting a lot of attention to Fintech and blockchain. Blockchain technology must be discussed in the context of other technology trends, too, such as cloud computing, digital assets, APIs, mobile and more. Our member countries are looking for advice. They want to know how to approach and unlock benefits of Fintech while also putting together regulation to minimize the risks. In addition to publishing research, the IMF is engaging closely with private sector and industry.”
And talking about the Asian countries, Brad speaks to the fact that the regulatory clarity in countries like Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines has been fantastic and it has allowed them to grow.
Currently, 50% of all the global customers are in Asia. So this is a huge market. He also had something really interesting to say. “In Singapore, you get paid once a month, and in the United States most people get paid once every two weeks. Brad asked, why do you think that is? In the past, there was so much friction. So he said we should now just be paying everybody by the day or by the hour.”
In the end, they took some questions from the audience, and they were asked about their predictions. Leckow said that he thinks the level of IMF cooperation with Fintech would increase. Brad said he believes banks would be the digital asset custody in the future.
Brad also asked Leckow whether he thinks IMF would hold digital assets. He said only if a country uses it as their currency.
You can watch the entire conversation here.