France will block the development of the Libra cryptocurrency project in Europe, as it threatens the "currency sovereignty" of the authorities. This was announced by the Minister of Economy and Finance of France Bruno Le Maire on Thursday during the opening of the OECD conference on cryptocurrencies.
"I want to be very clear: in these conditions, we can not allow the development of Libra on a European basis," - quotes Arab News with reference to the news agency AFP.
Previously, Le Mayor has already spoken about the threats that the Facebook cryptocurrency project poses to national currencies. In June, he asked the heads of the central banks of the G7 countries to prepare a report on the project. "The question of its gaining sovereign status is not worth it. This cannot and should not happen," he said then.
Also today, in a conversation with the publication Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Director of the Swiss Financial Markets Authority Mark Branson, in whose area of responsibility Facebook registered his project, spoke about Libra. According to Branson, Libra carries both risks and opportunities.
"Large financial enterprises bring reputational risks. This is true for the whole world. But I don't accept the idea that Switzerland should become a second-rate financial center only to avoid such risks. The determining factor is whether Switzerland has sound regulation and supervision and a good legal basis for major players," he said. - Libra has great ambitions. We don't need foreign pressure to understand that. Behind it are successful and huge corporations.
In the absence of direct jurisdiction, French authorities are unlikely to block Libra's development in Europe, but they can block access to related applications on their territory and prohibit local regulated entities from working with the cryptocurrency, thus limiting its practical application.
Is it fud news? or Europe dont want libra?
The Swiss regulator, meanwhile, is not going to relax its control over Libra either, and promises to impose additional requirements on Libra beyond the rules for payment companies as which it intends to register the project.