Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency on the management of monetary and financial stability mechanisms and policies.

The Government does not comment on details of the proposed business models of individual companies. However, this proposal raises wider questions for policy and financial regulation. The Government is working with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and international counterparts to consider these issues.

More broadly, the Government established the Cryptoassets Taskforce – comprised of HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England - to explore the risks and potential benefits of cryptoassets and consider the appropriate response. The Taskforce’s response set out commitments to further consider the regulatory approach to cryptoassets. The Government will consult on its approach to unregulated cryptoassets later this year.

The Taskforce’s final report, found that cryptoassets do not currently pose a material threat to UK or global financial stability, however this could change in the future, and the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee will continue to monitor the situation.