The governor of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) Haruhiko Kuroda has requested the international community to work together to develop a regulatory framework for stablecoins, including Facebook’s Libra.
In statements shared with Reuters on Tuesday, Kuroda noted:
“If Libra is introduced, it could have a huge impact on society.”
Kuroda, whose comments came during discussions with business leaders in Osaka, said that lawmakers must apply the highest level of regulation to stablecoins.
Earlier this month, Sigal Mandelker, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury Department, also recommended that Libra must adhere to the highest standards of US regulatory compliance before it’s introduced in Switzerland, the headquarters of the Libra Association.
Mandelker stated:
“Whether it’s Bitcoin, Ethereum, Libra, our message is the same to all of these companies: anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism has to be built into your design from the get-go.”
In July 2019, a G7-led task force examined the issues related to the Libra project. The group also suggested that rules of the highest standards are required to prevent digital currencies, including stablecoins, from being used to carry out illicit activities.
In mid-July, Japan’s authorities established a working group to look into the issues raised by Facebook’s Libra project.
