Why is France's finance minister at war with Facebook's cryptocurrency?

Source: France 24

September 14, 2019 at 23:27

AFP | French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire only has harsh words for Libra, Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency. He wants to block its development in Europe in the name of the "monetary sovereignty" of nations.

Bruno Le Maire has found a punching bag: Libra, Facebook's blockchain currency project. On Thursday September 13, the French Finance Minister expressed his opposition to the development of the digital currency in Europe, asserting that: "Our monetary sovereignty is at stake."

"It's a bit like Bruno Le Maire versus Libra Act II or Act III," Loïc Sauce, an economist and cryptocurrency expert at the Institute of Higher Education in Marketing and Commerce (ISTEC), told FRANCE 24. Le Maire has been wary of the project since Facebook announced in June its plan to enable its nearly two billion users to pay and send money with its new currency, Libra.

Protecting the government’s domain

Initially circumspect, Le Maire has since become openly hostile to the plan. In addition to the risk to sovereignty, he has also cited the "danger to consumers" and "systemic risk" when talking about Libra.

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