The European Central Bank should consider issuing a public digital currency, an EU draft document said, after plans by Facebook to introduce a private one met with a hostile response from global regulators.
Backers of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project pledged to forge ahead after selecting a five-member board on Monday, shrugging off the latest member defection by online travel company Booking Holding earlier in the day.
Facebook's ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency called Libra suffered severe setbacks on Friday, as major payment companies including Mastercard and Visa Inc quit the group behind the project.
PayPal said it would forgo any further participation in the group and would instead focus on its own core businesses.
France and Germany said on Friday that Facebook's Libra currency posed risks to the financial sector that could block its authorization in Europe, and backed the development of an alternative public cryptocurrency.