Facebook decision to launch Libra next year has not been met with acceptance from authorities all over the world. Since Facebook’s announcement to launch its digital currency, the social media platform has not left the news. So far, regulators have been very rigid in allowing Facebook to go ahead with its project. Several authorities have expressed concern over how much power the social media platform has over its users’ data, and the launch of a digital currency would be catastrophic.
As reported earlier, the European Union antitrust authority is already investigating Libra for its anti-competition strategies. Now other authorities have raised their concerns over the potential power that Facebook can have once Libra is launched. Mark Carney, governor of Bank of England, said that Libra would be subjected to highest standards of regulations. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also raised issues like money laundering, consumer protection, and financial stability that could arise with launch of Libra.
US congresswoman Maxine Waters recently in a statement said that after meeting with regulators in Switzerland concerns over Libra have not been resolved. This statement has raised more trouble for the social media giant. Many reports are already suggesting that chances of Facebook going ahead with Libra are very slim.
Libra has also sparked a broader debate about the cryptocurrencies among regulators. It can be noticed that regulators are now thinking about all digital currencies seriously, unlike before. Ido Sadeh Man, an Israeli businessman who is soon launching a digital currency in an interview to CNBC, said that regulators did not care about bitcoin ten years ago and were under the impression that it would go away by its own, but they turned out to be wrong. Congressman Patrick McHenry acknowledged the power of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies he said that it is not in the hands of government to “kill” bitcoin.
It is tough to predict what impact Libra would have on the crypto and financial market in general, but for now, the road ahead for Facebook looks tough.
