Facebook's cryptocurrency project Libra, a "walled garden": Ripple exec

Facebook's plan to create a digital currency has a major flaw, according to a leader of the start-up blockchain Ripple.

Marcus Treacher, Ripple's senior vice-president of customer success, told CNBC earlier this week that the biggest problem with the Libra social network project is that it is a "walled garden", which means to say of a closed system.

The term has in the past been applied to technology companies like Facebook and Apple with regard to the control they exert over their software and applications.

The scale token proposed by Facebook will be managed by an organization based in Switzerland, known as the Libra Association, whose members include Visa, PayPal and Uber. The coin would be tied to user deposits in currencies like the dollar and would be kept in a digital vault called Libra Reserve.

Ripple is known for its blockchain-based payment network, used by some of the world's largest banks to transfer money across borders in real time. The Blockchain, originally known as the network behind Bitcoin, is a large digital book that records data on a network of computers scattered around the world.

Treacher said that Ripple, unlike Facebook, had "no walled garden": "Yes, it's a network, but it has no setting.It connects with all players who wish to use technology."

Ripple's executive added that it was still "a very good thing" that a Silicon Valley giant like Facebook is playing a role in the digital asset space.

The social media giant's plans for a digital token have been the subject of intense scrutiny by global regulators, as it risks disrupting the financial system. Treacher said that the concern of many governments is that the scale is a "threat to the currencies".

The ripple made headlines in late 2017 and early 2018 in the midst of a monster rally in crypto-currencies that saw the XRP – a symbol that the firm uses – reaching a record of more than $ 3.

Prices experienced a massive retracement the following year, and the XRP was trading for the last time at around 24 cents, according to CoinDesk data.