David Marcus, the head of Calibra at Facebook, emphasized that Libra users will not have to put their trust in Facebook, in a post on July 3. Marcus reiterated that Facebook is not the only member of the Libra Network, and that they are relinquishing control of the network. In the post, he says: “Facebook will not control the network, the currency, or the reserve backing it. Facebook will only be one among over a hundred members of the Libra Association by launch. We will not have any special rights or privileges.” Relinquishing control over the infrastructure behind Libra is …

The United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services requested Facebook and its partners to stop the development of the Libra stablecoin. In a July 2 letter addressed to Facebook CEOs Mark Zuckerberg and David Marcus, and COO Sheryl Sandberg, the lawmakers request that Facebook and its partners immediately agree to a moratorium on the development of Libra and its dedicated Calibra wallet. The committee claims that the project may lead ”to an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intended to rival U.S. monetary policy and the dollar.” The committee notes that it …

Over 30 advocacy groups have appeared as signatories on a request that Congress and regulators implement an official moratorium on Libra development, as per the letter published on July 2. The letter was also addressed to Facebook, with Mark Zuckerberg himself cc’d, and asked that the social media giant wait until Congress and regulators have scrutinized a detailed presentation of the proposed stablecoin-esque virtual currency. The letter includes a number of questions that the signatories say need answers before Libra can proceed, including the following: “The plan for Libra makes explicit and implicit promises to consumers – such as the …

Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Kenneth Blanco briefed several members of the United States House on the potential for Libra’s use in money laundering, illicit financing, and other illegal activities, according to a press release from Representative Emanuel Cleaver II. Leading the meeting were Reps. Cleaver, Trey Hollingsworth, Bill Foster, and French Hill, all members of the Committee on Financial Services. Rep. Cleaver, chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy, said in his statement: “With the evolution of virtual currencies and new marketplaces, nefarious actors are continuously adapting to find new ways …

The United States House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing on the social media giant Facebook’s proposed virtual currency Libra on July 17, according to a press release on June 24. The announcement comes by way of committee chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters, who previously had called on Facebook to cease work on Libra until Congress and regulators had a chance to scrutinize the proposal: “Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and …

Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee is requesting that Facebook halt development on its cryptocurrency, the Libra, as reported by CNN Tech Reporter Brian Fung in a series of tweets June 18. In her statement, Rep. Waters explained: “Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action” In response, Rep. Patrick McHenry, also of the Financial Services Committee, said the following: “It is incumbent upon …

Crypto is on the march, and not just in terms of market price. Not only does data indicate that the number of ID-verified users of cryptocurrency doubled over 2018, but there are various other metrics that suggest that adoption is gaining traction. As many as 84% of companies worldwide are involved with blockchain-based technologies in some way, while cryptocurrency ownership is twice as high among young Americans than among the general United States population. And at a time when there's plenty of talk about the need for crypto to standardize and regulate itself before adoption can really take off, it …

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the current Republican Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives, said on Tuesday, March 12, that blockchain can make the U.S. Congress a more efficient and transparent place. Speaking to the Select Committee for Modernization of Congress, McCarthy said that blockchain technology has changed the paradigm of security in the financial world: “Blockchain is changing and revolutionizing the security of the financial industry. Why would we wait around and why wouldn’t we institute blockchain on our own, to be able to check the technology but also the transparency of our own legislative process?” The lawmaker …

The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill to commission a study into how cryptocurrencies and online marketplaces can be used to facilitate sex and drug trafficking. The bipartisan bill — known as “the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect (FIND) Trafficking Act of 2019 (H.R. 502) — passed 412-13 yesterday, Jan. 28. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the bill was sponsored by Representative Juan Vargas, D-Calif., and first introduced in June of last year. H.R. 502 will require the Comptroller General of the U.S. to investigate how cryptocurrencies and online marketplaces may (in)directly enable sex or drug trafficking, and …

A bill exempting companies providing non-custodial crypto services from certain state money transmitting laws has been resubmitted to the United States Congress. Data confirming this was published on the Congress’ official website on Jan. 14. The bill, titled “To provide a safe harbor from licensing and registration for certain non-controlling blockchain developers and providers of blockchain services,” was submitted by U.S. congressman Tom Emmer and co-sponsored by congressman Darren Soto. Emmer has already shown interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in the past, and has been featured in the list of the members of the U.S. Congress involved in crypto, …

Individual US states seem to be in competition for the title of the most crypto-friendly in the Union – Ohio’s recent announcement of imminent crypto tax payments being the latest example. Meanwhile, federal authorities remain in disarray with regard to how to define, let alone consistently regulate digital assets. It is not just stakeholders and crypto buffs who bemoan the disorderly state of federal policies: their usual talking points have been recently validated by academics. In an article forthcoming in a Journal of Financial Transformation, University of Arkansas Law School professor Carol Goforth weighed in with an opinion that essentially …

On October 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub). The new arm of the regulator will be focused on fintech-related fields, including, specifically, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and digital assets. What made the SEC create FinHub? The SEC, being an independent federal agency responsible for protecting investors from fraud schemes, has been trying to regulate the crypto market in the U.S. However, due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies and lack of federal regulatory framework, the agency’s purview has been significantly limited: the SEC had …