European Central Bank: Bar for Facebook Libra approval is high

The bar for approval of the currency Libra developed by Facebook in the European Union is high, says a director of the European Central Bank. Facebook employees will discuss the plans with Libra in Switzerland on Monday.

The director of the European Central Bank, Benoét Coeuré, says governments fear that Libra will make monetary systems unstable and undermine central banks of EU member states, The Financial Times writes. The French finance minister, among others, believes that Facebook should not be allowed to release Libra in the EU under the current circumstances.

According to critics, there are risks related to money laundering and the financing of, among other things, terrorism, in addition to competition concerns. Officially, the Geneva, Switzerland-based non-profit organization Libra is behind the payment method, but Facebook is the driving force behind it and has concrete plans to use the payment method on its platform.

The virtual currency gets a reserve of a collection of bank assets ‘in currency of stable central banks’, which should guarantee stability. Earlier this week, Coindesk wrote that the Libra Association wants to register the Libra in Switzerland as a payment system. Facebook announced Libra in June.