News Summary:
Switzerland welcomes the international scrutiny of the way it sees the Facebook-led cryptocurrency project Libra
Facebook Libra project has to face a tough scrutiny from both Swiss officials and their American counterparts
Swiss government welcomes the international scrutiny of the way it sees the Facebook-led cryptocurrency project Libra and aims to work together with other interested countries for the seamless supervision, a top Swiss financial watchdog said.
Facebook had revealed its plan for announcement of Libra but it came under the strong criticism from regulators all over the world with the fears that the Facebook-led cryptocurrency could destabilize the global financial system. Now Facebook Libra project will have to face a tough scrutiny from both Swiss officials and their American counterparts. So it’s difficult to say when this project is going see light of the day.
This week, Senior US Treasury official warned Facebook Libra association that it must meet the high standards so it could combat the money laundering and terrorism financing. These restrictions are not limited to only Libra but any cryptocurrency project will have to satisfy US regulatory standards.
Recently the Libra Association disclosed its plan to apply for Swiss-licensed payment system, in result bringing the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) under the spotlight on how it handles the matter where global financial regulatory seeing it as a danger to different monetary systems.
As FINMA welcomes other countries for the scrutiny, its Head Mark Branson disclosed to a news agency that he was ready to face the challenge related to Libra. “If a financial center has ambitions, it must be able to live with attention,” Branson said in a statement.
FINMA is ready to work with multiple countries that are taking keen interest in Facebook-led Libra cryptocurrency project. As US representatives and Group of seven advanced economies warned the Swiss authority.
“A project of such a global dimension can be addressed only via international coordination and consultation with other supervisors and regulators,” Branson said. “It is illusory to believe a single country can regulate and oversee a project like Libra on its own. The supervision of UBS or Credit Suisse also does not take place in complete isolation.”
“Our approach aims to regulate the crypto world in terms of money laundering the same as the conventional financial world. Our requirements here are among the strictest worldwide,” Branson said.
“At the same time, new technologies can also bring benefits in the fight against money laundering, for example if traceability of transactions becomes fully available. So there are risks and opportunities.”
Branson argued that Libra association has never declared to choose Switzerland as its base after a “beauty contest” to see where it might face the lightest regulatory touch.
“Our first contact with the initiators took place after the decision for Switzerland had already been made and communicated. That’s positive,” he added.
Garrett Davis
Category – Business
Garrett Davis holds a postgraduate degree in Software Engineering from Canada. ‘The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.’ Garrett is a share market expert, being personally invested for over 4 years. He believes the most valuable nugget of wisdom for new investors is a quote from Phillip Fisher. He has been writing his entire life, and while he has made a career of business and finance reporting, he still enjoys writing short stories and poetry.
Garrett has worked as financial analyst until his retirement. He is a well-known research director and portfolio manager for more than 5 years. After many years in the market, he dedicated all his time to write articles highlighting Business category.
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