Jim Yong Kim says blockchain technology can help to engineer the actualization of global financial inclusion. The World Bank Group (WBG) president believes a greater emphasis on technology can help the organization achieve its set goals.
Blockchain Technology Shows Enormous Potential
Speaking at a CNBC-hosted panel at the IMF-World Bank Meeting, Kim identified distributed ledgers and blockchain technology as one of the critical emerging technologies in the world today. According to the World Bank president:
We think distributed ledger [technology] has real potential and we issued the first blockchain bond in August where we created, allocated, transferred, and managed the entire bond through blockchain technology.
Kim also said the blockchain-managed bond reduced the amount of paperwork as well as the cost of the process. Thus, the World Bank chief believes that blockchain could become extremely important in the future, for a plethora of use-cases.
The World Bank did raise over $100 million from the blockchain-managed bond ‘bond-i.’ Seven investors participated in the bond sale which included the Northern Trust, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), three Australian state governments, and a local Australian pension fund.
For Kim and World Bank, blockchain technology represents a globalized form of innovation that plays right into the organization’s agenda. According to Kim, many of the developmental strides in some countries use methods that are localized. Hence, they leave a lot to be desired when considered within the context of global development.
World Bank is Behind the Curve on Technological Developments
Kim admitted that his Organization was several paces behind the rapidly evolving technological scene. According to the WBG head, the bank must find ways to keep up with technological developments. In that way, it can have greater successes in fulfilling its mandates.
Meanwhile, a recent IMF report also stated that cryptocurrencies posed a substantial threat to the structural integrity of the global finance market. According to the report, the “continued rapid growth of cryptocurrencies could create vulnerabilities in the international financial system.”
Speaking also during the same session, Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief said that it was important that countries around the world be awake to the use of fintech as a conduit for moving money around illegally.
What do you think about the World Bank president’s comments about blockchain technology? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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