France Finance Minister Calls Facebook Libra a Threat to 'Monetary Sovereignty'

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Thursday said the country cannot authorise the development of Facebook's proposed Libra cryptocurrency on European soil as it threatens the "monetary sovereignty" of governments. Le Maire also cited the potential for abuse of market dominance as well as systemic financial risks as the reason why the cryptocurrency cannot operate in Europe, Sputnik news agency reported.

"All these concerns about Libra are serious. I, therefore, want to say with plenty of clarity: in these conditions, we cannot authorise the development of Libra on European soil," Le Maire was quoted as saying at the opening of an OECD conference on virtual, cryptocurrencies. Facebook announced its intentions to launch the digital coin in June. The new cryptocurrency is designed to assist billions of its social media users in conducting international transactions. The digital coin will be operated by Facebook along with 28 partners, including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Uber, Lyft, and Spotify.

The development of the Libra has raised grave concerns among lawmakers over how it will be regulated. Earlier this month, a member of the board of the European Central Bank (ECB) cautioned that the Libra virtual currency could under certain circumstances negatively affect the bank's ability to regulate the euro and the single market.