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Global regulators to question Facebook’s Libra amid EU concerns

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Global regulators will question Facebook today about its Libra cryptocurrency, amid concerns from European Union governments over the threat the digital currency poses to financial stability, the Financial Times reported yesterday.

Officials from 26 central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, will meet with Libra representatives in Basel, Switzerland, the FT said citing officials.

Libra's founders have also been invited to answer key questions about the currency's scope and design, FT added.

Countries including France and Germany have publicly criticised the social media giant's Libra project, saying it posed risks to EU states' sovereignty.

They said the currency posed risks to the financial sector that could block its authorisation in Europe, and they backed the development of an alternative public cryptocurrency.

The criticism came as the European Central Bank said it was working on a plan to launch a public digital currency that could make projects such as Libra redundant.

Virtual currencies pose risks to consumers, financial stability and even "the monetary sovereignty" of European states, France's Finance Minister, Mr Bruno Le Maire, and his German counterpart, Mr Olaf Scholz, said in a joint statement.

"France and Germany consider that the Libra project, as set out in Facebook's blueprint, fails to convince that those risks will be properly addressed," they said. - REUTERS

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