Tim Cook throws shade at Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency

Now that Facebook has announced its initiative to build a cryptocurrency, will other tech giants follow in its footsteps? Well, Apple probably won't.

In an interview with the Les Echos newspaper (via CNBC), Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company does not plan to launch a cryptocurrency and criticized the notion of a private company launching any sort of currency.

"I really think that a currency should stay in the hands of countries. I’m not comfortable with the idea of a private group setting up a competing currency. A private company shouldn’t be looking to gain power this way," he told the outlet.

Cook's stance toward Libra appears to be in line with that of some politicians, who also consider Libra to be a threat to currencies issued by nation-states. Facebook doesn't see it this way. David Marcus, the head of Calibra (which is a wallet for Libra), recently addressed the notion, saying that there's "no new money creation" in Libra, which will be backed 1:1 by a basket of currencies.

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That doesn't mean Apple is against cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology entirely. Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey recently said the company is "watching cryptocurrency" and that it has "interesting long-term potential."

Meanwhile, Libra's troubles keep mounting. Just a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Mastercard and Visa may be close to abandoning the project, Financial Times said that PayPal, another Libra partner, is "on the verge" of leaving Libra as well.