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(Adds context, additional interview material)
By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
GENEVA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Libra Association, due to
launch and manage the Facebook-led Libra cryptocurrency,
is talking to European Union regulators after opposition from
Germany and France, its managing director said at one of his
first public appearances on the job.
"There are discussions that are ongoing (with EU
regulators)and we still have work to do with them and any other
regulators in the world," Bertrand Perez told Reuters in an
interview on Friday during a blockchain conference in Geneva,
where the association is based.
In June, Facebook and other members of the Libra Association
that include Vodafone, credit card companies Mastercard
and Visa, and PayPal, announced plans to
launch a digital currency backed by a reserve of real-world
assets next year.
The proposed cryptocurrency has since garnered scrutiny from
authorities across Europe and North America, with France and
Germany pledging to block Libra from operating in Europe.
Perez, a senior director of payments engineering for PayPal
before starting at Libra this May, said the association is
currently focusing its efforts on meeting and addressing
regulatory concerns. Progress would determine whether the
network would launch on schedule for June 2020, he said.
"When we (made) the announcement in June, that was our North
Star," Perez said, adding that a delay of one or two quarters
would not be an issue. "What is important is that we need to
comply with the regulators and we need to make sure that they
are on board with us and fully comfortable with our solutions."
The association is now planning to ramp up operations, he
said, including "significant" growth and hiring over the next
two quarters, including in compliance and technological
development.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; editing by Stephanie
Nebehay, John Miller)
