Trump Attacks Facebook's Libra

President Donald Trump attacked facebook for planning to create a digital currency called Libra, saying it would have “little standing or dependability.”

In a Twitter thread, the president said that he was “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, adding that “unregulated Crypto Assets” can facilitate drug trade and other illegal activity.

“Similarly, Facebook Libra’s ‘virtual currency’ will have little standing or dependability,” he said. “If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new banking charter and become subject to all banking regulations, just like other banks, both national and international.”

According to Financial Times, France also appears to be opposing Facebook’s plans.

On Friday, an official at France’s finance ministry said the country would not allow a private group to set up the equivalent of a national currency. “We will not allow private enterprises to give themselves the attributes of state sovereignty . . . the means of monetary sovereignty,” the official said, ahead of the G7 meeting where cryptocurrencies and cyber security are expected to be on the agenda.

For French officials, a currency such as Libra issued by a company with hundreds of millions of customers would carry unacceptable systemic risks. It can also lead to money laundering and terrorism financing.

Last month, Facebook announced that it would launch its global cryptocurrency in 2020. The social media platform and 28 partners, including Mastercard Inc, PayPal Holdings Inc and Uber Technologies Inc would form the Libra Association to govern the new coin. No banks are currently part of the group.

In the same time, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the largest U.S. bank by assets, plans to launch its own digital coins.