Facebook to Testify Before U.S Authorities on July 16
The United States Senate Banking Committee has announced a July 16, 2019 hearing date for Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project according to a MarketWatch report on June 19, 2019
More Clarity Required
On June 18, 2019, reports emerged that Rep. Maxine Water, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee had requested that Facebook should immediately pause the further development of its Libra cryptocurrency pending when Congress and regulators have completely investigated the potential risks associated with the project.
“Given the firm’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing its cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take the necessary action,” she said.
Per sources close to the matter, the Senate Banking Committee has now announced plans to conduct the hearing on July 16, 2019.
Reportedly, the hearing is titled “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations” and part of its objectives is to find out how the Mark Zuckerberg-led firm plan to handle users’ personal data among other issues.
Interestingly, Zuckerberg who had previously held talks with top U.S financial regulators including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , as well as the Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, has made it clear that he and his team are ready to answer all the pertinent questions that will be thrown at them.
Zuckerberg said:
“We are prepared to respond to lawmakers’ questions as this process moves forward.”
Unending Turbulence
As reported by BTCManager on June 18, 2019, Facebook released the whitepaper for its Libra cryptocurrency and since then mixed reactions has trailed the firm’s crypto ambition.
According to the Libra whitepaper, the stablecoin which will initially be powered by a permissioned and highly scalable distributed ledger, is designed to facilitate borderless money transfer even for unbanked people around the globe.
Shortly after the release of the whitepaper, the French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire reportedly condemned the project, stating categorically that it is impossible for Libra to function as a sovereign currency.
The French finance chief also called on the Group of Seven (G-7) central bank governors to pay close attention to Libra and prepare a comprehensive report concerning Project Libra so that they could deliberate on it during their July summit.
It’s also worth noting that some big whales in the cryptospace are not on the same side with Project Libra and many have taken to Twitter to express their feelings.
“They know your family, friends, real-time/historic location, what you like… They know you more than yourself. And now your wallet too. Best AML! tweeted CEO of Binance exchange, Changpeng Zhao.
