PayPal Holdings Inc. has become the first company to withdraw from Facebook Inc.’s Libra Association, the body set up to oversee the proposed cryptocurrency.

Reports that major companies backing Libra were about to walk away over regulatory concerns was reported by The Wall Street Journal Oct. 1. Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. were two companies named as likely to walk, with PayPal being a possibility as well.

David Marcus, the Facebook executive leading Libra and himself a former president of PayPal, pushed back against the report Oct. 2, claiming that there was no “angst” among members of the Libra Association. Marcus didn’t outright deny that some members of the group may be leaving, saying instead that the official initial group of Libra members “will be formalized in the weeks to come.”

PayPal didn’t say why it was leaving, saying in a statement Friday that it “has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations.”

Dante Disparte, head of policy and communications for the Libra Association, responded to PayPal’s withdrawal by saying that “we recognize that change is hard and that each organization that started this journey will have to make its own assessment of risks and rewards of being committed to seeing through the change that Libra promises.”

PayPal didn’t provide an explanation for its departure, but regulatory concerns are the most likely reason. A report by the Financial Times in August on the same subject noted that two of the founding backers considering cutting support on concerns about the regulatory spotlight. A third said it was worried that supporting Libra could result in unwanted attention from agencies that oversee their business.

PayPal, with an international money transfer business, fits neatly into the third slot. The company would not want to see its core business thrust into the spotlight through association with Libra. Given the attention Libra has received so far, that’s a real risk.

Libra has been criticized on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S. it has been attacked by members of Congress as well as President Donald Trump. In Europe, it has been targeted by investigations and hearings.

With PayPal having opened the door and left the Libra building, the only question now is who else may follow.

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