The world's biggest economies and financial institutions are throwing cold water all over Libra, the digital currency proposed by the social media giant Facebook.

A draft report put together by the Group of Seven (G7) warns cryptocurrencies like Libra pose a risk to the global financial system, and must not go ahead until the company and backers prove it is legally sound, will protect consumers, and will ensure coins are not used to launder money or fund terrorism.  The report covered so-called "stablecoins" in general.  But Libra is the big one, and this the meaning is clear.

"The G7 believe that no stablecoin project should begin operation until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks are adequately addressed," stated the report.  "Addressing such risks is not necessarily a guarantee of regulatory approval for a stablecoin arrangement."

A stablecoin is pegged to established currencies such as the dollar and euro to ensure stability and avoid wild swings in value, making it different than more well-known cryptos such as Bitcoin.

Last week, Libra suffered even more blows as major payment companies including Mastercard and Visa Inc. quit the group behind the project.  So did EBay Inc., Stripe Inc., and the Latin American payments company Mercado Pago.  PayPal Holdings Inc bugged out a week earlier.