Cryptocurrency
Blockchain
Facebook’s blockchain head responds to calls for moratorium on Libra
Facebook’s blockchain head David Marcus has assured US policymakers that the social media company is taking the time to make sure that its recently announced cryptocurrency project, Libra, is done right, The Hill has reported.
In a letter dated July 3, Marcus said that the company was looking forward to cooperating with lawmakers and watchdogs to address the concerns that has been raised about the project.
“We understand that big ideas take time, that policymakers and others are raising important questions, and that we can’t do this alone,” Marcus wrote in the letter, as quoted by The Hill. “We want, and need, governments, central banks, regulators, non-profits, and other stakeholders at the table and value all of the feedback we have received,” he added.
The letter was addressed to members of the House Financial Services Committee, who recently urged Facebook to “immediately agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on” Libra and its cryptocurrency wallet. The lawmakers, including the chair of the committee Maxine Waters, said that the project raised privacy, trading, national security and monetary concerns and argued that it might lend itself to “an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intended to rival US monetary policy and the dollar”.
In his response, Marcus said that the “big idea” behind Libra was “to reduce transaction costs and expand access to the financial system using blockchain technology”.
The Libra project will be governed by a Geneva-based consortium called Libra Associations, which includes 28 “founding members”, including big companies such as MasterCard, Visa, Uber and Vodafone. Facebook’s recently formed blockchain subsidiary Calibra is among these founding members.
Marcus is set to have separate hearings before the US Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee next week.
Featured image: Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com
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