Singaporeâs central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), is seeking more information from Facebook about its recently unveiled cryptocurrency project, Libra.
As reported by Bloomberg, MAS managing director Ravi Menon said at a media briefing on Thursday that his institution has held talks with the social media giant over concerns about how Libra would function, although he acknowledged there are potential benefits too.
Currently, MAS is having trouble deciding on how to categorize Libra in terms of regulation. âAt this point we are not sure yet,â Menon said.
Regarding the possible benefits, he said that Libra âoffers a very interesting proposition that could help to addressâ existing âexpensive, inefficient, sometimes riskyâ methods of remittance.
However, MAS needs more information to gauge these benefits over existing electronic payments systems. The regulator needs to understand âhow exactly itâs going to work.â Menon said, including aspects such as Libraâs economics, security and privacy.
Menonâs comments come as the latest in a line of global regulators to state that more information is needed to understand the benefits and risks of Libra.
Authorities in Italy, the U.K. and France have recently indicated that Libra raises issues that must be examined.
Over in the U.S., the House Financial Services Committee will host a hearing on Facebookâs libra cryptocurrency next month, just a day after the Senate Banking Committee holds its own hearing.
Maxine Waters, chair of the powerful House committee, has raised concerns that Facebookâs token could ultimately rival the dollar, while French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has said itâs âout of questionââ that Libra be allowed to âbecome a sovereign currency. It canât and it must not happen.â
As a result, France is creating a task force within the Group of Seven (G7) nations to examine the issues.
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