Libra spurs central banks

Great appeal: The central banks of Britain, the eurozone, Japan, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland mulls issuing digital currencies, amid a growing debate over the future of money, says Yamaoka. — Reuters

TOKYO: The challenge posed by Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency likely prodded major central banks to set up a new group to study the potential for issuing their own digital currencies, according to a former Bank of Japan (BoJ) executive.

The central banks of Britain, the eurozone, Japan, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland on Tuesday announced a plan to share experiences to look at the case for issuing digital currencies, amid a growing debate over the future of money.