Libra is a blockchain digital currency planned to be launched in 2020. The social media giant plans to let its nearly two billion users to pay and send digital cash using Libra. M Le Maire has voiced his fears about Libra in the past, saying it is a “danger to consumers” and presents a “systemic risk”. Nathalie Janson, an economist and crypto specialist at the Neoma Business School in France, told broadcaster France24 his concerns were justified.
She said: “Governments risk losing control over a significant part of financial flows, which would deprive them of information that is important for determining monetary policy,”
M Le Maire supports a digital currency managed by central banks.
Last week he issued a joint statement with his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, urging the European Central Bank (ECB) to “accelerate its thinking on a public digital currency”.
Recently the Chinese government announced it will launch its own cryptocurrency to rival Facebook’s looming Libra coin.
A senior banking official told Chinese media that officials are still planning to launch a state-run cryptocurrency similar to the social media network’s Libra.
Mu Changchun, the deputy director of the People’s Bank of China’s payments department, said the digital currency will protect China’s “digital sovereignty and legal currency status”.
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