Five EU Members Plotting Against Libra

The ongoing battle between Libra Association and government officials takes new turns almost every day. It appears that the already announced Libra cryptocurrency has become a stick in a throat for many US Senators, who just can’t seem to give the co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg a break. But while the 35-years old multi-billionaire is making every effort to fend off the attacks from the authorities on the American front, bad things start brewing across the Atlantic.

As Zuckerberg was recovering after losing gallons of tension sweat at the latest House Financial Services Committee hearings, the authorities of the European Union appear to have been plotting against Libra on their own. According to the information from several reliable sources, the representatives of five leading EU member-states have been ganging up against Facebook and its non-profit subsidiary company Libra Association that oversees the development of the infamous cryptocurrency that takes place in Geneva, Switzerland.

The anti-Libra coalition in making 

The source claims that as many as five European economic heavyweights have developed a common understanding that they ought to exert their significant influence on regulators in order to put a stop on the further development of Facebook’s proprietary cryptocurrency and the associated ecosystem.

The team of conspirators includes France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands - basically all countries that are calling the shots in the European Union. As reported, France is leading the efforts aimed at forming a single regulatory front that would allow the authorities to firmly confront any future initiatives made by Libra Associations to roll out the much expected, and much fought against, cryptocurrency on the predetermined date.

The final decision to oppose Libra had been made after a series of backroom meetings that took place throughout October. The anti-Libra coalition has finalized their action plan this week in a meeting behind closed doors, with deputy finance ministers of all participants being present. No press releases were issued after the meeting, no official statements or comments were provided, but the message has been made loud and clear. The EU powerhouses intend not only to put roadblocks for Libra Association to render the fully-fledged introduction of Libra, which is expected to happen sometime next year, virtually impossible.

Libra partners could be collateral victims

Apart from Facebook, the European authorities threaten to put insurmountable pressure on other 21 participants in the Libra project that vouched to contribute their funds and other resources in exchange for the right to run master nodes on the emerging Libra blockchain. The list of Facebook partners includes the global taxi-hailing service Uber and the media service provider Spotify, along with such widely recognized brands as Vodafone, Xapo, PayU, Coinbase, etc.

On October 15, the Libra members have signed a formal charter that allowed for the election of the board of directors and the appointment of the executive team. But as it turns out, the number of obstacles grew exponentially even before the ink on the charter signatures could dry up. The pressure from the US Senators had already forced several initial Libra members, namely PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, to withdraw from the project. It appears that Libra could lose more partners as the confrontation with the regulators is getting more intense.

Author: Alex Paulson for Crypto-Rating.com