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Libra sparks European soul-searching on digital currencies and payment networks
04 December 2020 00:00
Duration 23:20
With Facebook’s Libra set to take on the world, the question in global financial-services circles has now turned to how best to regulate, or even whether to allow, the digital currency. Facebook is no stranger to conversations about regulation; but in Europe the advent of Libra has prompted a broader discussion about whether there isn’t a better way to cut high bank transfer charges. In the EU, commercial banks plan a rival to Visa and Mastercard – while central banks are also considering launching their own, state-backed, cryptocurrencies.
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Editorial Team
James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific

James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more
Fiona Maxwell Chief Correspondent

Fiona Maxwell is a financial services chief correspondent at MLex in London. She began her career as a reporter for Risk.net, writing about EU post-crisis regulation, and later worked for POLITICO in Brussels, covering the intersect between financial policy and politics. Prior to joining MLex, Fiona worked at the Bank of England as a policy adviser in the prudential policy directorate.Connect with Fiona on Twitter.