Japan sets up working group on impact of Facebook’s digital currency

TOKYO – Japanese authorities have set up a working group to discuss the impact Facebook’s proposed Libra digital coin could have on monetary policy and financial regulation, government sources said, ahead of a G7 finance leaders’ gathering where the topic will be high on the agenda.
The working group, consisting of the Bank of Japan, the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Agency, began meeting this week and will seek to coordinate policies to address the impact Libra could have on regulation, monetary policy, tax and payments settlement, the sources said.
The plan by the social media giant to build a digital currency has raised concerns among global regulators that it could quickly become systemic given Facebook’s huge cross-border reach.