G20 debate Facebook’s new cryptocurrency initiative

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Finance ministers at the G20 meeting in Washington debated the risks of cryptocurrencies, in particular Facebook’s new ‘Libra’ initiative. 

France, Germany and Italy want to ban Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency. 

“We will not tolerate that a private multinational company has the same monetary power as sovereign States, which are subject to democratic control. Because the big difference between Facebook and these States is that we are subject to democratic control, that is, the control of the people,” Bruno Le Maire, the French Finance Minister, declared. لعبة كرة السلة

The G20 meeting brought up the risks of money laundering and illicit funding that these kind of cryptocurrencies initiatives could bring. 

“While we recognize the potential benefits of innovation in the financial sector, we agree on the fact that stable digital currencies (i.e. backed by a currency “basket” of euros or dollars) have a series of important policy and regulation risks,” the G20 Japanese presidency said in a statement. Such risks should be assessed and remedied appropriately before these projects can start.” 

The G20 has asked the IMF to examine the macroeconomic implications “including monetary sovereignty issues of Member States, taking into account the country’s characteristics.” 

The Brussels Times