Just days after the Wall Street Journal reported that credit card titans Visa and Mastercard, who had initially agreed to back Facebook's Libra, are reconsidering their involvement following a backlash from U.S. and European government officials, late on Friday e-payment giant Paypal also announced it was withdrawing from the group of companies Facebook had assembled to launch the global cryptocurrency-based payments network, dealing a blow to the social-media giant's ambitions to overhaul financial services.

While Paypal didn't cite a specific reason, it said it "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."

"We remain supportive of Libra's aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future," the statement continues. "Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities."