Greg Medcraft, Director of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs of the OECD, recently revealed that he believes we need an “international discussion on cryptocurrencies,” and that blockchain technology will propel the “next revolution.”

During an interview on the sidelines of G20 with Brazilian news outlet Criptomoedas Fácil, Medcraft revealed that there are several issues in the cryptocurrency space that need to be addressed. One of these issues, presumably referring to initial coin offerings (ICOs) is the lack of certainty when it comes to regulations in place, for both token issuers and investors. Since cryptocurrencies are global, he argued, global coordination is needed to tackle regulations in the crypto sphere.

Another issue is risk. The OECD director mentioned money laundering, which he says needs to be addressed through coordination. He also noted that investor and consumer protection needs to be addressed, as fraudsters keep tricking potential investors, and projects often don’t disclose basic information.

Per his words, the OECD is specifically interested in market integrity, and in cases in which cryptocurrency exchanges get hacked, as the organization sees investor protection principles as one of its key instruments, according to Medcraft, who previously served as the chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Per his words, governments and regulators need to come together to discuss the best possible way to protect consumers in this area.

Blockchain technology is “the next revolution”

Criptomoedas Fácil then asked Medcraft about his thoughts on blockchain technology. He replied that he sees the technology as “the next revolution,” and that combining what we have with distributed ledgers makes for exciting possibilities. He said:

“Well, I think that distributed ledger is the next revolution (…) If you’ll actually enable this intermediation in many parts of the value chain, which should result from my point of view in cheaper, faster, better products for consumers and investors. That transparency, I think that the peer-to-peer that is enabled through distributed ledger will help financial inclusion.”

The biggest beneficiaries of this type of technology, he said, will be governments, financial services providers, and global supply chains. Governments, for example, will be able to use blockchain technology to improve voting systems, and review their services.

In his answers, the OECD director noted blockchain technology has three key advantages: it allows for the secure exchange of value, the secure of exchange of data, and for better cybersecurity. The latter, he believes, isn’t yet being properly explored. Per his words, the technology will “reshape” the world’s economy.