The German government has reportedly passed a blockchain strategy that’ll block parallel currencies in the country, including Facebook’s Libra.
According to a report published by Reuters, the blockchain strategy was passed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet and while the government claims it’s looking to “boost the digital transformation” in the country’s economy, it’s also looking to “tackle the risks stemming from such new technologies.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was quoted as saying:
We want to be at the forefront and further strengthen Germany as a leading technology location. At the same time, we must protect consumers and state sovereignty. A core element of state sovereignty is the issuing of a currency, we will not leave this task to private companies.
The move comes shortly after Germany revealed it was opposed to the launch of Facebook’s Libra in Europe, and after France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire said it “cannot authorize” the development of the social media giant’s cryptocurrency in Europe.
David Marcus, a former PayPal president who’s currently the head of Facebook’s cryptocurrency, has challenged the idea the currency will threaten the monetary authority of sovereign nations, arguing it’s designed to run on top of existing currencies.
Featured image by AC Almelor on Unsplash.
