‘It’ll NEVER happen’ – Finance expert blasts Facebook cryptocurrency
THE head of the biggest bank in America has poured scorn on Facebook's plan to launch a bitcoin-style cryptocurrency. Libra is a blockchain digital currency planned to be launched in 2020. The social media giant aims to let its nearly two billion users pay and send digital cash using Libra.
But JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer Jamie Dimon says Facebook's plans are not particularly innovative. Speaking at a conference hosted by the Institute of International Finance in Washington, Mr Dimon said: "It was a neat idea that’ll never happen." The Libra Association, a group of 28 companies and other organisations including Vodafone, eBay, and Uber set up to oversee the crypto, has taken a series of body blows recently.
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It was abandoned by influential members such as Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal.
A PayPal statement read: “PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratise access to financial services for underserved populations."
Libra has come under fire from financial regulators across the world.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire voiced fears that two billion people turning to Libra for online transactions will leave governments in the dark when deciding financial policy.
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".
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