The head of the IMF believes that crypto-currencies should be taken seriously

Christine Lagarde - The Head of the International Monetary Fund

Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned that central banks and financial services should pay attention to crypto-currencies. In an interview with CNBC at the annual IMF meetings in Washington, DC, Lagarde said: "I think that we will see massive shifts". According to Lagarde, the Crypto-currencies can play a future role in the renewal of the IMF's own domestic currency, the reserve asset of which is called Special Drawing Right (SDR). What we will learn is how this currency, special drawing rights, can actually use this technology to be more efficient and less expensive.

The IMF has been exploring the potential of technology for some time, focusing on both cross-border payments and the possibility of using a crypto currency supported by the central bank. In addition, as a fund manager, Lagarde was a notable proponent of technology.

Speaking at a London conference last month, she said that crypto currencies could "compete" with traditional currencies, and in June Lagarde argued that distributed registry technology (DLT) could be used to combat financial fraud and terrorist financing.

In a conversation with CNBC, Lagarde spoke out against the criticism of the bitcoin by Jamie Dimon, who earlier described the currency as "fraud" and warned that it is not necessary to classify the crypto-currency sphere as speculative or fraudulent, because:

This [crypto currency] is much more than just [speculation].