Germany takes aim at Facebook Libra; plans to block private stablecoins

Regulation • September 13, 2019, 10:48AM EDT

The German grand coalition, the governing coalition of the two biggest political parties in Germany, is looking to deny the launch of projects like Libra, according to a report by Spiegel.

This month, members of the German government will approve the country's blockchain strategy which will "not allow market-relevant private stablecoin" to exist in the country, according to Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) parliamentarian Thomas Heilmann. Heilmann is responsible blockchain policy of the CDU parliamentary group.

"Up to now, the economy has done a great job in countering crises and inflation with measures taken by central banks," says Heilmann. "Once a digital currency provider dominates the market, it will be quite difficult for competitors."

Germany's move comes after France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, claimed that the country would halt the development of Facebook’s planned Libra stablecoin in Europe because it threatens the “monetary sovereignty” of governments.

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Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi