Switzerland's market watchdog confirmed Thursday that it is contact with the "initiators" of Facebook's new cryptocurrency, as questions mount over how the money will be regulated. Switzerland has tried to establish itself as a global cryptocurrencies hub, but the entry into the market of a behemoth like Facebook will increase scrutiny over the rules Switzerland has in place.
"We can confirm that we are in contact with the initiators of the project," a spokesman for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Tobias Lux, told AFP in an email. The Libra coin plan, launched this week by Facebook and some two dozen partners, is being overseen by a Geneva-based nonprofit called the Libra Association. Lux declined to comment on the details of FINMA's exchanges with the Libra Association but said the watchdog's role was to determine "whether the planned services require approval under Swiss supervisory law and, if so, which."