EU Regulators skeptical about Facebook’s GlobalCoin

• Facebook’s GlobalCoin is set for a 2020 launch.
• The French Finance Minister and the German member of the European Parliament have expressed their concerns.

European central bankers recently stated that they have a set of concern regarding Facebook’s GlobalCoin. Despite signing up financial giants like Visa, Mastercard and PayPal to back their crypto, Facebook is still facing skepticism from top policymakers. This implies that not all European supervisors are satisfied with the idea of the coin.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a radio interview that Facebook’s stablecoin shouldn’t be seen as a substitute to fiat currencies. Le Marie has expressed his concern if Facebook’s coin can strictly stick to money-laundering and anti-terrorism rules. Speaking about the serious implications for financial stability if authorities lose hold over the phenomenon, Le Marie called for G7 banks to make a report on Facebook’s project for their July meeting. Markus Ferber, the German member of the European Parliament, also warned that GlobalCoin could produce a “shadow bank.”

Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, on the other hand, is keeping an “open mind” on GlobalCoin. Earlier this year, Carney reportedly discussed with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg about the project as part of a broader meeting on the future of finance. However, he said that it may face strict regulation after it is launched. He stated:

“Anything that works in this world will become instantly systemic and will have to be subject to the highest standards off regulation.”