Singapore's central bank holds talk with Facebook over Libra cryptocurrency project

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has reportedly held talks with Facebook about its newly unveiled cryptocurrency project, Libra, according to Bloomberg.

As per the report, MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon voiced concerns on how the social media giant’s crypto project would function, although he did acknowledge it has potential advantages too.

The MAS is currently having difficulty categorizing Libra in terms of regulation. “The key challenge is to figure out the nature of the beast… At this point, we are not sure yet,” Menon stated.

Talking at a media briefing on Thursday, Menon said that the regulator needs to understand “how exactly it’s going to work,” so it can gauge the possible benefits of Libra over other existing electronic payment systems. He also noted the institution’s need for more information on the different aspects of Libra including economics, security, and privacy.

As to the possible benefits, Menon said Libra can address the current problems of “expensive, inefficient, sometimes risky” money remittance platforms. He further added that Libra can help bring the unbanked into the financial system.

Menon joins other global regulators to express reservations of Facebook’s Libra project. It can be recalled that U.S. House of Representative’s Financial Service Committee chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters requested the social media site to pause the development of its blockchain project.

In addition, the United States Senate Banking Committee has also scheduled a July 16 hearing for the said project.