IMF Recognizes Bitcoin in Global Economic Data for the First Time

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has updated its balance of payments standards to account for the increasing influence of cryptocurrency.

IMF adds Bitcoin to global economic statistics!

In the latest seventh edition of BPM7, the IMF has included cryptocurrencies such as

According to the new IMF standards, Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies are now classified as non-profit generating assets in global economic statistics. This marks the first time the IMF has provided detailed guidance on digital assets in its global statistical standards.

The new IMF framework divides digital assets into fungible and non-fungible tokens and further classifies them based on whether they have related debts. Bitcoin and similar tokens without debt are considered capital assets, while stablecoins backed by debts are classified as financial instruments.

According to the IMF, cryptocurrency assets like Bitcoin, which are not related to liabilities and serve as a medium of exchange, are classified as non-produced non-financial assets and are recorded in the capital account.

In practice, this means that cross-border cryptocurrency transactions involving assets like Bitcoin will be tracked as purchases or sales of non-produced assets in the capital account. Meanwhile, tokens linked to a platform, such as Ethereum or Solana (SOL), may be considered equity holdings in the financial account if the owner originates from a different country than the token's country of origin.