IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Answers Bitcoin Question on ABCs Q&A

[knight22]

IMF Director Christine Lagarde gave her stance on bitcoin yesterday after answering a question at 52:30

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3941811.htm

Article

[TrailingComet]

Nice, thanks for sharing this

[Sheldor333]

We got one great question from the audience on bitcoin which referenced the lack of trust in the current system, advancements in technology and the growth of alternatives like kickstarter and peer to peer lending that remove the middle men.
In reply Ms Legared wheeled out the all too predictable " bitcoin is for money laundering derp" and even said it was suspicious. As was the tone of the whole show she let us know there needs to be a hierarchical centralised government at the heart of everything for it to be valid and worthy and safe from evil money launders. She did admit the current system was not perfect.

[knight22]

Yup and the funny thing is that the IMF is planning to get a reserve of bitcoin as the only way they have "control" it lol. I posted their report on this tread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=478011.0

[MaxwellsDemon]

What a surprise, this is her stance on Bitcoin: "... I think it would be a very suspicious and very inopportune way of substituting a system that is not perfect, but that is at least governed and regulated."

Thank you for that, Christine. I think your IMF, and the entire financial system you are desperately trying to protect, is a very suspicious and inopportune way of substituting Bitcoin - which is not perfect, but is at least not governed and regulated.

[tabnloz]

I thought she was patronising.

"You know what, just judging by the applause, it sounds really attractive, really alternative, and, hey, why not? But I'm concerned about one thing. And that is that, for the moment, those systems are also very nice channels to do some very unfortunate money laundering, tax evasion"

The reason for the applause is

a) It was a well put question that embodied the way many many people feel about the financial sector ie "the collapse of trust"

b) It was a challenge to Ms Lagarde to refute the question. people know financial institutions / systems are self serving and hypocritical and in this instance she is their mouthpiece.


I thought her body language was telling. Before "I'm concerned about..." part she had her hand up to emphasise her point. It's a straight up power play. It basically says 'listen here, you dont really know what you are talking about so let me inform you'.

And she may be right, she is a very smart and experienced individual, but you cant refute a technological change that completely betters the current system just by saying it enables a practice that is a defining characteristic of the current one.

[Carlton Banks]

you cant refute a technological change that completely betters the current system just by saying it enables a practice that is a defining characteristic of the current one.

Not to mention that the privileged few can evade any significant punishment for avoiding taxes and laundering money in the legacy system. It's only ordinary people who are punished currently.

[bg002h]

Yup and the funny thing is that the IMF is planning to get a reserve of bitcoin as the only way they have "control" it lol. I posted their report on this tread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=478011.0

You're too funny. No, the IMF is not thinking about getting a ฿ reserve. That old paper you reference is for some journal in Chicago...in no way written by anyone with the IMF.

[tabnloz]

you cant refute a technological change that completely betters the current system just by saying it enables a practice that is a defining characteristic of the current one.

Not to mention that the privileged few can evade any significant punishment for avoiding taxes and laundering money in the legacy system. It's only ordinary people who are punished currently.

Yes. 'if' Bitcoin is a conduit for money laundering, it is one for the people: open, traceable, prosecutable and accessible by the *99%*. The TBTF banks have been proven to launder, rig and manipulate on a grand scale for the 1%. They are opaque, inacccessible to the majority and those ultimately responsible almost never see the inside of a cell.

[knight22]

You're too funny. No, the IMF is not thinking about getting a ฿ reserve. That old paper you reference is for some journal in Chicago...in no way written by anyone with the IMF.

Even if not written by them, they probably asked for it though.

[securityguy]

Christine's concern about bitcoin being a tool for money laundering and tax evasion is really a concern that technologies like bitcoin threaten the traditional banking systems protected monopoly they have on the mass money laundering and tax evasion they conduct themselves.   A protected monopoly is very profitable and the bitcoin invention undermines that monopoly.

[FelixOliver]

Lagarde, the face of the Financial Middle-Man...

Her entire response reeks of Pre-Performance, and exposes all the hours she spent standing in front of the mirror - trying desperately to get each and every line just perfect.

She, and her minions at the IMF, know the danger that lies ahead.. They have obviously held lengthy discussions, behind closed doors, about contingency plans and how best to stifle the ever increasing volume of the Liberator that is Bitcoin. They know that they can't get rid of it... they can petition for the passing of Laws that will act as a Deterrent, but how does one punish the 'Anonymous' user of a distributed protocol?

So like the intellectually redundant bunch they are, they resort to smear campaigns... and other laughable tactics so that they may suppress the widespread adoption of Bitcoin.

In summary I think that this is good news for Bitcoin... you could almost see the fear in her face.

[benjyz]

the woman who asked the question runs this website

http://www.rachelbotsman.com
http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com

the answer of course is 100% predictable. there is actually not a good record of how bad the financial system is, and how it interlinks with large scale corruption of all institutions. the trackrecord of the IMF and Worldbank is pretty atrocious.