According to managing director of Libra Association, Bertrand Perze, Facebook’s planned launch of its cryptocurrency Libra could be delayed because of mounting regulatory concerns being raised from around the world. Facebook had announced its plans to launch its digital currency in June 2020, but central banks, regulatory authorities and governments across several countries have raised concerns on privacy and security.

France and Germany had stated their reservations and pledged to block Facebook Libra from launching in Europe. According to Perez, the Libra Association is conducting discussions with European and other regions’ regulatory authorities to allay their concerns and make them “fully comfortable with our solutions”.

The proposed digital currency would have supported Facebook’s upcoming plans to enter e-commerce as it would have made it easier for consumers and business to transact with each other over the social networking platform. Facebook’s Libra is expected to be backed by real-world assets such as bank deposits and short-term government bonds, to make the price less volatile than existing cryptocurrencies in the market.