Intensifying regulatory scrutiny of Facebook's Libra digital currency has spooked some of the project's early backers, with at least three privately discussing how to distance themselves from the venture.
The 28 members of the Libra Association, which include Visa, Mastercard, Uber, Spotify and the Facebook subsidiary Calibra, made a non-binding pledge to invest at least $10m in the project, which Facebook unveiled in June, with the aim of shaking up the global payments market.
However, the proposed currency has prompted a fierce backlash from global watchdogs and politicians, including an official investigation by EU antitrust officials. Two of the project’s founding backers told the FT they were concerned about the regulatory spotlight and were considering cutting ties. Another backer said they were worried about publicly supporting Libra for fear of attracting the attention of agencies who oversee their own businesses.