The concept of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – the opposite of decentralized crypto – whose purpose can be summed up as a way to keep financial power firmly cemented in the hands of governments and their central banks in the digital age, unsurprisingly has a staunch supporter in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Both CBDCs and the IMF are global darlings and here, they come together, with the latter’s top officials like Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva talking up the benefits of the former.

Georgieva addressed the Singapore FinTech Festival, and according to her keynote speech, CBCDs are capable of replacing cash (another long-time dream held dear by financial elites, but also authorities who like to keep a close eye, not to say surveil, the activities of the population).