Swiss Regulator FINMA Won't Impede Libra's Development

As European watchdogs send troubling signals towards the Facebook-led Libra cryptocurrency, Switzerland remains willing to listen.

According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Mark Branson, CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), said, “We are not here to make such projects impossible.”

“We will respond to them with an open mind, with an attitude that same risks require same rules,” Branson said at a Bloomberg event in Zurich.

The statement comes on the heels of Economy and Finance Minister of France Bruno Le Maire’s condemnation of the cryptocurrency project. Citing the potential threat the stablecoin poses towards destabilizing national currencies, Le Maire said, “We cannot authorize the development of Libra on European soil.”

Switzerland has long been a hub of crypto-development. The country is home to over 700 blockchain companies, including the Geneva-based Libra Association, which governs the project.

Noting that Switzerland’s “rules and standards are non-negotiable,” Branson continued to say that Libra “is something which is being done transparently.”

He added:

“I am much more nervous about projects which develop in a dark corner in the financial system somewhere, spread themselves out through cyberspace and one day are too big to be stopped.”

Swiss flag image via Shutterstock