Facebook will be quizzed by global regulators on its planned Libra coin project amid concerns from EU governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability.
Representatives of Libra will meet officials from 26 central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, in Basel on Monday in the first major encounter between Libra’s founders and policymakers since Facebook unveiled its plans to upend global payments, officials told the FT.
Benoît Coeuré, of the European Central Bank who will chair the meeting, has warned “the bar for regulatory approval will be very high” for Libra to operate in the EU. He was speaking after a gathering of EU finance ministers in Helsinki where governments expressed “strong concerns” about how Libra and other digital currency technologies could destabilise the financial system and undermine the sovereignty of governments and central banks.