Swiss Say Facebook's Digital Currency Plan Will Face Hurdles
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:42 pm
FILE - Representations of Facebook's virtual currency "Libra" are displayed in an illustration picture, June 21, 2019.
GENEVA - Facebook and its partners have asked financial authorities in Switzerland to evaluate their plan to create a new digital currency to be called Libra.
Facebook unveiled a proposal in June to create a digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use. The company said it would set up a nonprofit association headquartered in Geneva with its partners to oversee Libra, putting it under Swiss regulatory authority.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority said Wednesday that the Libra Association has requested an “assessment” of its plan.
The authority, known as FINMA, says the proposal has to meet anti-money laundering requirements and other strict standards. That includes obtaining a “payment-system license” that makes the association responsible for bearing “the returns and risks associated with the management of the reserve.”