Report: Facebook Libra loses key backers

Facebook’s troubled efforts to create its own cryptocurrency have reportedly hit more snags.

According to CNBC, major companies that operate in the digital payment space, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and eBay, have all withdrawn their support from Libra, a bitcoin-based Libra cryptocurrency network Facebook has said it will launch in 2020. While 22 companies are still creating a consortium to help oversee Libra, lawmakers in both the U.S. and Europe have been threatening to heavily regulate or even ban the cryptocurrency over concerns it could destabilize global currency markets.

In a CNBC interview on Oct. 14, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the government will take regulatory action if Libra does not meet standards. Facebook has so far declined direct comment.

Facebook disclosed in a July 2019 quarterly report that it faces potential obstacles in launching Libra. These include “significant scrutiny from governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions,” as well as “significant uncertainty” in whether the marketplace would accept Libra and Facebook’s own lack of experience with digital currency or blockchain technology.

“(T)here can be no assurance that Libra or our associated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, or at all,” Facebook stated in the quarterly SEC filing.

To read the full CNBC article, click here.