Facebook warns investors that Libra may never see the light of day



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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the F8 Facebook Developer Conference on April 30, 2019 in San Jose, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

In its latest quarterly report, Facebook reminded investors that while planning to launch its Libra digital currency in 2020, a number of factors could prevent this from happening.

In the Risk Factors section of the report, Facebook acknowledged the importance of the reluctance of legislators and regulators since the announcement of the project in June.

"Libra has been subjected to extensive scrutiny by governments and regulators in several jurisdictions and we expect it to continue," said Facebook in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, the acceptance of this currency by the market is subject to significant uncertainty. As such, there can be no badurance that Libra or our badociated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, if at all. We do not have significant prior experience with digital currency technology or blockchain, which could adversely affect our ability to successfully develop and market these products and services.

David Marcus, who leads the development of Libra and the Calibra digital wallet project on Facebook, said the currency would be a "more efficient, cheaper and safer" payment tool for people who can not afford to transfer money using traditional methods.

Since the revelation of his plans regarding Libra and Calibra last month, Facebook has been the subject of criticism from officials in the United States and abroad.

Earlier this month, Marcus testified before the US Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. It was introduced by legislators at both sessions.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also expressed concerns about Libya. Similar reservations were issued by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and by the member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, Benoît Coeure.

In a statement to CNBC on Monday, a spokeswoman for Facebook said that here the launch of the product, the company will work openly with all parties involved.

"We know that launching Libra will be a long process and we can not do it alone," the spokeswoman said. "Engaging with regulators, policy makers, and experts is critical to Libra's success, which is why Facebook and other members of the Libra Association have shared our plans at an early stage. "

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made similar comments in a telephone conversation with badysts on Wednesday. A few years ago, the company "would probably have come and tried to launch a product by ourselves," he said.

"On all these fronts, the approach is to expose the ideas and values ​​that we think a potential service should have, to leave a period of time to deal with the regulators and the questions of different experts and voters at this time. topic, and then determine which is the best way to move forward, "said Zuckerberg.

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