Facebook could withdraw from the Libra Association — the governing body of the eponymous stablecoin project — should it launch without approval from regulators in the United States. Libra could lose its primary member In a Congressional hearing on Oct. 23, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg reiterated the company’s commitment to not launch its planned cryptocurrency project until it receives the green light from U.S. regulators. Zuckerberg delivered his statements before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, where lawmakers grilled him on various aspects of the company’s activities including Libra, data practices and the handling of hate speech …

Disclaimer: This article will be updating live for the duration of the Oct. 23 hearing. Please check in for the latest from the hearing. In Advance: In a much-anticipated meeting of politics and tech, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has finally made his way to United States regulators. He will be testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Facebook’s Libra. The planned stablecoin has been the subject of much controversy since it’s June whitepaper. Days after, Chairwoman of the committee Maxine Waters called for a moratorium on Libra’s development. According to Zuckerberg’s prepared remarks released yesterday, he plans to assure …

Today, Oct. 23, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee regarding Libra — the company’s stablecoin project that has been facing major regulatory backlash since the day it was announced. While Libra was previously represented in front of the U.S. lawmakers by the head of the coin’s native Calibra crypto wallet, David Marcus, this will be the first time Zuckerberg himself will represent the project in Congress. So, could the Facebook CEO have any tricks up his sleeve, and how beneficial will such a hearing be for Libra? Brief recap of …

None of the 21 founding members of the Libra Association, except Facebook, have yet committed any money to support Libra, according to the BBC. $10 million investment initially required Since the announcement of the Libra Association Council in June 2019, no financial agreement for the founding partners has been made to date, BBC reports Oct. 23, citing several unspecified sources. Alongside the release of the Libra whitepaper in June, Facebook announced that each of the founding members was required to make a minimum investment of $10 million in order to seal the position and secure a vote on the council. …

United States Congress is considering a draft bill that claims all managed stablecoins must be seen as investment contracts and therefore as securities. Libra in the United States The U.S. Representative for Texas's 29th congressional district, Sylvia Garcia, introduced a draft bill to the House Financial Services Committee on Oct. 18. The draft bill, called the ‘‘Stablecoins are Securities Act of 2019,” seeks to regulate stablecoins under the Securities Act of 1933. This entails “amending statutory definitions of the term security” to include the term “managed stablecoins.” The proposed bill seems to be directed at Facebook’s Libra stablecoin, which is …

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of social media giant Facebook, plans to tell United States Congress that Libra will not launch anywhere in the world until U.S. regulators approve it. Libra won’t launch anywhere without congressional approval According to Zuckerberg’s prepared remarks released on Oct. 22 in advance of planned hearings before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the Facebook CEO wants to assuage regulatory concerns over the launch of the coming stablecoin. He said: “Facebook will not be part of launching the Libra payments system anywhere in the world until US regulators approve.” However, that this phrasing is not the …

In an interview with Cointelegraph on Friday, Oct. 18, United States Representative Warren Davidson gave his thoughts on the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) flawed approach to regulating digital assets as well as Mark Zuckerberg’s upcoming Oct. 23 testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Congressman Davidson (R-OH) is a figure familiar to many in the crypto world for his role in authoring the Token Taxonomy Act, as well as his general optimism about the role of blockchain in the U.S. On regulating Libra as a security While discussing regulating cryptocurrencies at large as opposed to Libra, Davidson was highly precise …

Banks may be bound to stop working with social media giant Facebook if the firm launches its Libra stablecoin, according to ING CEO Ralph Hamers. Bank can choose to “not accept the client” Financial news outlet Financial Times reported on Hamers’ remarks on Oct. 22. Per the report, he explained that institutions like ING have to guard the financial system to prevent criminal activity. Because of this, concerns over Libra’s potential for illegal use may result in a response from the banks: “We can take measures and exit the client, or not accept the client, so those are discussions you …

Ever since the vision for a Libra stablecoin was unveiled in its white paper back in June, Facebook has suffered a startling backlash from countries around the world. Some American politicians have claimed the digital currency has the potential to be more dangerous than 9/11. Lawmakers over in Europe haven’t been too kind either, with Germany’s finance minister warning he is “very, very skeptical” about the project. The main bone of contention with Libra has been the notion of a private company creating a currency designed to rival the likes of the dollar and the pound. Critics fear it would …

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India — like many others, in his view — is showing a high degree of caution in regard to Facebook’s Libra. During last week’s 2019 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, D.C. — which included a discussion of the Libra project — Sitharaman told reporters from the New Indian Express that: “On our side, the Reserve Bank Governor spoke about it during our turn to intervene. I got the sense that many countries were cautioning on rushing into this [...]. Countries will have to show extreme …

Facebook is reportedly open to the idea of using national currency-pegged stablecoins for its forthcoming Libra project. According to Reuters on Oct. 20, David Marcus, the head of the Libra project for Facebook and CEO of Facebook’s wallet service Calibra, said that Libra could use various fiat-based stablecoins, instead of the initially proposed token. Speaking at a banking seminar on Sunday, Marcus reportedly stated that the main goal of the project was to create a more efficient payment system and that it was not opposed to looking at alternative approaches. Marcus said: “We could do it differently,” he said. “Instead …

Earlier this week, initial members of the Libra Association formalized a governance structure after holding their inaugural meeting in Geneva. The transition happened just days after seven high-profile participants, including Visa, eBay and Mastercard, chose to leave the organization. Libra’s setback happened amid general regulatory upheaval in the crypto industry: In October alone, United States authorities fined EOS developer Block.One for holding an unregistered securities offering and halted TON — the largest private token offering — over similar charges. Related: TON’s ‘Force Majeure’ Clause — Is Telegram About to Refund Investors? Regardless, Facebook’s idea for creating an accessible stablecoin for …