Bank of England Governor Says Facebook’s Libra Crypto Will Be Scrutinized

Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency payments initiative could be subject to the “highest standards” in global regulation, said Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England.

According to a Financial Times report on Tuesday, Carney noted during a central bank meeting in Portugal that he remains “open minded” on the utility of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency, admitting that worldwide payments systems are largely unequal at the moment.

However, he stated that it would be inevitable for Facebook to meet the highest standards of regulation should it succeeded in signing up users.

Carney added the U.K. central bank would scrutinize Facebook’s crypto payments plan “very closely” and will collaborate with global forces including G7 countries, the Bank of International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund as well as the Financial Stability Board, for which Carney served as a former chair.

Based on the report, Carney also raised questions on how Facebook would be able to ensure anti-money laundering measures while protecting users’ data privacy.

Carney’s comment came after Facebook revealed its long-anticipated cryptocurrency initiative in an effort to build a global peer-to-peer payments network.

Such move had drawn criticism from both home and abroad for the social media giant. Hours following its announcement on Tuesday, financial regulators in Europe already voiced concerns over the possibility of Facebook’s Libra becoming a shadow bank and asked for closer scrutiny over the project.

A lawmaker that heads the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee had even asked Facebook to halt the development of Libra for the time being until hearings could be held.

Carney image via Shutterstock