G7 Leaders Talk Cryptocurrency and Libra, Pledge to ‘Act Quickly’

The G7 may throw up another roadblock for Facebook and its Libra project, as prominent attendees at a summit of ministers and central bankers expressed concerns – and promised action.

The summit is currently ongoing in Chantilly, France, and attendees include American Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who earlier this week echoed President Donald Trump’s skepticism on cryptocurrency and Libra-related matters.

AFP quotes an unnamed French official as stating,

“On Libra, we had a very constructive and detailed discussion with a very large and shared consensus on the need for action […] Concerns were expressed by all the participants about the current situation and the need to act quickly.”

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was more guarded in his responses, but admitted ministers and central bankers had “serious concerns” about Libra.

Scholz stated, “They want to be sure that all existing regulations are adhered to, and if they should be changed in the future so that we can guarantee the stability of the international financial system.”

And France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he wanted the G7 to come up with a “framework or regulations” that would make Libra “feasible.”

Meanwhile, the head of Japan’s central bank has called on countries to draw up a unified response to Facebook’s Libra project – and to the growth of the cryptocurrency industry in general.

Per Reuters Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, the Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), spoke to reporters in France ahead of the G7 summit and pledged that “every country will work together to consider a necessary response” to both Libra and wider cryptocurrency-related matters.

Kuroda stated that, in order to prevent fraud and monopolies, “it is necessary to consider the regulations internationally,” and insisted that financial regulators – not only G7 bankers and ministers – should be involved in any conversations about regulations or guidelines covering cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, David Marcus, co-creator of Libra, head of their Calibra wallet, was answering heated questions before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee yesterday.