Facebook Inc ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency called Libra suffered severe setbacks in recent weeks as major payment companies including Mastercard and Visa Inc quit the group behind the project.

"It's a good sign that important companies have withdrawn from this project," Scholz said in an interview with Reuters.

"I see the project as a threat to the autonomy of states and to democratic governance in our society. We must ensure that the issuance of a currency remains a matter for states and not large private companies," Scholz added.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber,)