The chief executive of R3, a software company that sells blockchain technology to large businesses, has claimed that Facebook’s attempt to spearhead a new cryptocurrency has caused banks to speed up their efforts to follow suit.

David Rutter, founder and chief executive of R3, which was set up in September 2015 by a consortium of top-tier banks, said that the Libra project has “clearly accelerated some timeframes” for both financial institutions and regulators.