Bitcoin Goes Mainstream—IMF Integrates Crypto Into Global Standards

Global regulators have set the first set of wide-ranging rules to measure cryptocurrency transactions, reflecting a major transformation in the reporting of digital assets’ movements at the national level. The International Monetary Fund has recently issued its seventh Balance of Payments Manual, bringing forth uniform regulations to monitor Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Related Reading: […]

Mar 26, 2025 - 04:10

Bitcoin Goes Mainstream—IMF Integrates Crypto Into Global Standards

Global regulators have set the first set of wide-ranging rules to measure cryptocurrency transactions, reflecting a major transformation in the reporting of digital assets’ movements at the national level.

The International Monetary Fund has recently issued its seventh Balance of Payments Manual, bringing forth uniform regulations to monitor Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

Mapping The Crypto Landscape

According to IMF reports, more than 160 nations came together to create a new framework that fills enormous gaps in monitoring digital asset flows. Cryptocurrency transactions, which are estimated to be in trillions of dollars every year, have long been unrecorded or irregularly reported.

Breaking Down Digital Assets

The guide proposes a comprehensive classification system for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, for example, will be accounted for as a non-produced, non-financial asset – the same way nations account for land or natural resource rights.

Stablecoins such as Tether will be identified as financial instruments, while crypto services like mining and staking will be classified under computer services exports.