One of Facebook’s top executives, Fidji Simo, downplayed recent defections from the group it formed to run its controversial Libra digital currency, while also acknowledging that growing regulatory scrutiny of Facebook has made it harder to acquire other companies.

Simo, one of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s direct reports who oversees Facebook’s flagship app, said that recent departures of companies like Visa, Mastercard and PayPal from the Libra Association weren’t a surprise given the regulatory challenges the project faces.

“We knew that some members were not going to be here for the entire journey,” she said at The Information’s annual subscriber summit, held in Menlo Park, Calif., on Thursday. “This is going to be a road that’s really hard.”