to create a cryptocurrency earlier this year

it did so with a lot of fanfare and not much detail.

The scheme, we were told, could make

it nearly free and almost instantaneous to transfer money

anywhere around the world.

It could even, we were told, bring millions

of people without bank accounts into the formal economy

for the first time.

But at the same time Facebook told us

they had not yet secured the necessary regulatory approvals

for the project.

And nor had they finalised who their other backers would be.

Well, since then, regulator after regulator

has come forward to voice concerns about the scheme.

Many are worried that it could allow criminals to use

the platform to launder money.

And some are worried that it could

threaten the global dominance of the dollar.

That could undermine US monetary and foreign policy.

This regulatory scrutiny has become so intense

that some of Project Libra's prospective backers

are beginning to get nervous, especially those that already

have payments businesses such as Visa, MasterCard, Stripe,

and PayPal.

PayPal, in fact, did not attend a meeting here in DC

to discuss the communication strategy behind Project Libra.

And we've been told by people close to the company

that it is thinking of pulling out altogether.

As I speak, we are days away from finding out

what the final list of Project Libra's backers will be.

At that point we will know whether PayPal has joined

or not, whether others have joined

or not, and whether the momentum behind the entire scheme

has begun to stall.