As countless eyes watched and followed the recent U.S. congressional hearings regarding Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra, it was evident that it will not be easy for the social media giant and the Libra Foundation to find a way of convincing the regulators of the merits their product could bring to the world. David Marcus, head of Facebook’s Calibra wallet that is built on blockchain technology, who has long been a leader in the centralized digital currency space, testified before the Senate Committee on Banking as well as the House Financial Services Committee. When asked challenging questions about Facebook’s plans for its …

Alfred F. Kelly Jr., the CEO of Visa, said that no companies have officially joined Libra. At this stage, the 20-some companies involved with the foundation have reportedly only declared interest via a nonbinding letter of intent. According to an apparent transcript of a Q3 2019 earnings call for Visa dated July 23, Kelly said: "We have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to join Libra. We're one of — I think it's 27 companies that have expressed that interest. So no one has yet officially joined." As per the transcript, Kelly was responding to an inquiry from Bryan C. …

Just 2% of Americans trust Facebook’s Libra more than major cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), according to a recent survey by CivicScience. United States-based polling company CivicScience recently conducted a survey of 1,799 American adults to find out the general trends and public concerns over Facebook’s not-yet-launched cryptocurrency Libra. According to research results released on July 22, at least 40% of respondents claimed that they trusted Libra less than Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH) and XRP. 35% stressed that they trust Libra much less than Bitcoin, according to the study. 39% of respondents stated that they were unsure regarding …

Among all the issues cropping up in Facebook's recent hearing in the United States Congress regarding its new Libra cryptocurrency, the matter of location was perhaps the thorniest. Testifying before various banking and financial committees, Libra co-creator David Marcus was repeatedly questioned as to why Facebook had decided to establish the subsidiary behind its newfangled stablecoin in Switzerland rather than good ol' America. Reps. Patrick McHenry, Josh Gottheimer and Bill Huizenga, for instance, all asked queries touching on the decision to set up abroad, insinuating in the process that Facebook is aiming to avoid American regulations and oversight, and inadvertently …

About 71% of German citizens are skeptical about Facebook’s Libra stablecoin, while only 12% welcome it, according to a survey published by German financial association Bürgerbewegung Finanzwende on July 23. Most Germans already have an opinion Notably, the survey also showed that almost every one of the 2,093 German adults surveyed had an opinion on the matter, with only 17% saying that they are not sure what to think about the stablecoin. Furthermore, 52% of the respondents also pointed out that Facebook’s impact on society is already problematic today, and over a quarter (26%) stated that they believe further growth …

Swiss privacy regulators have said that social media titan Facebook is lagging in its response to requests for more liaison. An unanswered letter As Cointelegraph reported, a Reuters report published on July 23 revealed that the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) sent a letter to the Libra Association on July 17 but has not as of yet received any response. The Libra Association is a newly-established, independent governance consortium for Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency, dubbed Libra. Notably, David Marcus, chief of Facebook’s Calibra wallet service, has previously indicated that the corporation expects the FDPIC will serve as data …

The United States Senate Banking Committee is set to hold a broader debate on crypto and blockchain regulatory frameworks next week. An official committee announcement indicates the hearing — entitled “Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain” — will take place on July 30. The planned witnesses will be Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of payments company Circle, who will speak on behalf of The Blockchain Association; Rebecca M. Nelson, a specialist in International Trade and Finance at “Congress’s think tank,” the Congressional Research Service; and Professor of Law Mehrsa Baradaran, from the Irvine School of Law at the …

The Swiss data protection regulator is waiting for Facebook to provide it with particulars on data protection risks associated with the forthcoming Libra digital currency, Reuters reported on July 23. The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) — the competent authority for data processing by federal bodies and individuals in Switzerland — sent a letter to Libra Association on July 17, asking for details about Libra. The FDPIC stated: “The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner has noted the remarks made by Mr. David Marcus at his hearing before a U.S. Senate committee. The FDPIC stated in his letter …

While Facebook is struggling to agree on its crypto project Libra, a wave of fake Libra accounts have come up online, including on Facebook itself. According to a report by The Washington Post on July 22, nearly a dozen fake Libra pages have circulated across Facebook and its social photo-sharing app Instagram, posing as official entities for the much-discussed digital currency. Facebook removed Libra scam pages only after alerted by Washington Post As said in the report, a number of those fake Facebook and Instagram accounts were removed on July 22 only after The Washington Post reported on them to …

Almost half of Americans and Brits would not trust Facebook in regards to its long-awaited stablecoin Libra, technology and market-focused news platform Telecoms.com reported on July 22. Facebook’s trust issues could hurt Libra project Citing a survey from instant messaging application Viber, the news outlet reveals that 49% of users in the United Kingdom and the United States said that they would not put trust in the social media giant when it comes to its own digital currency. Those respondents specified that they would not trust Facebook at all in regards to keeping their private information secure when using Libra. …

Potential benefits of Facebook’s Libra should be made possible despite the existing regulatory uncertainty and associated risks, Germany's central bank said. In a monthly bulletin called “Crypto tokens in payment transactions and in securities settlement” released on July 22, the Bundesbank evaluated potential advantages and shortcomings of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as well as stablecoins such as Facebook’s widely-discussed crypto project Libra. Regulation of Libra should be as technology-neutral as possible, Bundesbank says In the document, Germany's central bank stated that global innovative projects such as Libra should not be made impossible as they aim to increase prosperity and …

Damian Collins, a senior official at the British Parliament and known critic of Facebook, wants to probe the firm’s crypto project Libra. Damian Collins says Libra is going to be open to massive fraud Collins, chairman of the British Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, who led an 18-month investigation into the company following the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, reiterated his negative stance to Facebook in an interview with Financial News, a London-focused financial news outlet, on July 22. A Member of Parliament (MP) at the lower house of the United Kingdom’s Parliament, Collins pointed out that Libra would …