France, Germany To Block Facebook's Libra

The Ministry's of Finance of both France and Germany said on Friday that they have agreed to block Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra.

“No private entity can claim monetary power, which is inherent to the sovereignty of nations,” the two countries asserted in a joint statement.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier that Libra should not be permitted to operate in Europe, raising concerns about sovereignty and financial risks.

"Libra represents a systemic risk from the moment when you have two billion users. Any breakdown in the functioning of this currency, in the management of its reserves, could create considerable financial disruption," Le Maire added.

"All these concerns about Libra are serious. I, therefore, want to say with plenty of clarity: in these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of Libra on European soil," he noted.

Although Libra will not be decentralized, like other cryptocurrencies, control will be transferred to a Swiss-based non-profit organization.

This week, Switzerland said the cryptocurrency could meet strict rules that apply to banks, as well as anti-money laundering laws.

In the meantime, the EU Commission said that it would review Libra's tax and privacy concerns.