Altcoin News: Banking Committee of the US Senate Will Hold a Hearing on Facebook’s Cryptocurrency

June 20, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will meet in July to discuss Facebook’s new cryptocurrency initiative, CoinDesk writes.

The hearing on the “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations,” is intended to provide answers to problems identified by members of Congress regarding the Libra cryptocurrency and its potential risks. Companies recommended suspending the development of the project until its detailed study by legislators and regulators.

“We look forward to responding to lawmakers’ questions as this process moves forward,” a Facebook spokesman said.

The hearing will be held July 16 and will be broadcast to the general public. There is no information about who will be presenting a cryptocurrency project on it yet.

It was the Banking Committee last month that prepared an open letter to Facebook, in which it outlined a number of questions regarding the principles of the operation of Libra and the company’s plans to attract regulators to this initiative. Facebook hasn’t responded to this week.

Senator and US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Twitter wrote: “Facebook has too much power and a terrible track record when it comes to protecting our private information. We need to hold them accountable — not give them the chance to access even more user data. #BreakUpBigTech.”

Libra and the Fed

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said on Wednesday that representatives of the social network spoke with the central bank on the subject of Libra.

“You know Facebook, I believe, has made quite broad rounds around the world with regulators, supervisors and lots of people to discuss their plans and that certainly includes us,” said Powell.

At the same time, the Fed chairman admitted that he was not concerned about the possible influence of Libra on US monetary policy. According to him, cryptocurrencies or digital currencies are unlikely to have such a deep impact on central banks.

“You know, there are potential benefits here, there are also potential risks, particularly of a currency that could, you know, have large application. So I would echo what Governor Carney said which is that we will wind up having quite high expectations from a safety and soundness and regulatory standpoint if they do decide to go forward with something,” he added.

Calibra is not for all

TechCrunch on Wednesday reported that the Calibra digital wallet may not be available in some countries.

“The Libra Blockchain will be global, but it will be up to custodial wallet providers to determine where they will and will not operate. Calibra won’t be available in U.S.-sanctioned countries or countries that ban cryptocurrencies,” a company representative said in a conversation with the portal.

In particular, we are talking about India, whose authorities are known for their hostility towards cryptocurrencies. According to Statista, 260 million Facebook users live in this country, which is significantly higher than in the United States, with 190 million users.

Author: Marko Vidrih