David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto wallet Calibra, stressed Facebook’s intent to be compliant with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in distributing the Libra stablecoin. As a Cointelegraph correspondent reports on July 16, Marcus delivered his comments at the ongoing hearing on Facebook’s Libra with the Banking Committee of the U.S. Senate. Addressing the issues of money laundering and terrorism financing, Senator Cortez Masto asked Marcus how Facebook is going to ensure that the platform is not being used for such purposes. Marcus responded that “this is something that I care about deeply, personally.” Marcus added that …

At the ongoing hearing on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project with the Banking Committee of the United States Senate, lawmakers are interrogating Facebook on privacy and trust concerns. As a Cointelegraph correspondent reports on July 16, David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto wallet Calibra, is stressing the project’s trust and regulatory compliance, while some senators are not convinced. Senator Jon Tester asked about Libra's ability to make assurances against fraudulent purchases or loss of funds, along the line of credit cards or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Marcus responded that “we will do our best to resolve those types of issues …

This week is crucial for the future of Libra: Facebook's cryptocurrency project will be subject to two back-to-back hearings in the United States Congress. First, the Senate Banking Committee will discuss the token on July 16. Then, on the following day, Libra will be reviewed by the House Financial Services Committee. The cryptocurrency’s co-creator, David Marcus, has announced that he will testify at both hearings. Libra has been making waves worldwide since its white paper was unveiled in June. Specifically, the project has been experiencing massive political and regulatory pushback. Financial institutions of numerous countries, including the U.S., Japan, China, …

United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin shares President Donald Trump’s concerns on the use of cryptocurrency to finance illicit activity, and stresses the role of enforcing FinCEN regulations with respect to crypto-dealing organizations. Mnuchin made his remarks at a press conference on July 15. Mnuchin called the use of cryptocurrencies to fund illicit activity a national security issue, saying that billions of dollars have been used for this purpose: “Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity, like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, randomware, illicit drugs, human trafficking […] This is indeed a national …

The United Kingdom Finance Minister Philip Hammond said that regulators and not lawmakers should decide on how to regulate Facebook’s stablecoin Libra, CNBC reported on July 15. In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Hammond said that lawmakers should not decide to require the social media giant Facebook to acquire a bank license as it is “an issue for regulators to determine, not for politicians to determine.” Hammond said that Libra could be “a very positive thing” once it is properly regulated, and added: “We’re not going to turn our back to it or try to stop it. We’re going …

The United States Senate Banking Committee has released the opening statements of David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto wallet Calibra today, July 15. The statements come ahead of a hearing on the Libra cryptocurrency project tomorrow in the Senate, in which Marcus will testify. In his testimony, Marcus raised the issue of Facebook’s upcoming stablecoin Libra and its associated digital wallet Calibra, which have previously drawn criticism from both community members, lawmakers and leading industry players. Specifically, Marcus delivered comments on the structure and management of Libra and Calibra and their implications for commerce and consumers. Marcus writes that no …

A proposed bill to fine major tech firms such as Facebook $1 million per day if they issue cryptocurrencies is being circulated by Democrats, Reuters reports on July 15. Reuters cites a copy of draft legislation — reported on by Cointelegraph when it first surfaced online last week — and notes that it proposes to impose a $1 million fine daily upon any firm that violates its proposed rules. Per Reuters, the bill is being put forward for discussion by the Democratic majority leading the United States House Financial Services Committee, and reportedly states that: “A large platform utility may …

Japanese authorities are investigating the impact of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin, Cointelegraph Japan reported on July 12. Per the report, Japanese authorities have set up a liaison conference tasked with investigating the impact of Facebook’s stablecoin on monetary policy and financial stability. The conference will reportedly consist of the Bank of Japan, the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Agency and has already started meeting this week. The report claims that the objective of the newly formed group is to coordinate policies that would address the consequences of Libra’s implementation on regulation, tax, monetary policy, and payments settlement. Unspecified officials …

Ethereum’s co-founder Mihai Alisie is extremely concerned that Facebook is attempting to hoodwink regulators into approving a centralized “cryptocurrency,” according to a report by Bloomberg on July 11. In an interview with Bloomberg, Alisie stressed that Facebook is attempting to get regulator approval for its yet-to-be-released virtual currency Libra by claiming that it will not be centrally controlled by Facebook, or other business giants, five years down the line. Alisie reportedly said that Facebook intends "to mislead the regulators who have learned in the last few years that blockchain is not something that can easily be regulated [...] It should …

When people outside of crypto think of John McAfee, they think computers, cybersecurity, anti-virus software. But in the world of crypto and blockchain, you think of a yacht in tropical waters, passionate — and sometimes, admittedly, inebriated — tweets on tech and crypto... and an enviable amount of partying. When I called McAfee to talk on record, he was sitting at a table outside a cafe in Cuba with palm trees and patches of blue sky behind him. We talked about McAfee’s presidential campaign in the United States, his relationship with the U.S. government, cryptocurrency mass adoption and why he’s …

Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban defined Facebook’s Libra stablecoin a big mistake in an interview with CNBC published on July 12. During his interview, Cuban commented on the social media giant’s cryptocurrency endeavors. He said: “I’m not a big fan of what they’re doing there. [...] I think it’s a big mistake.” Cuban reportedly explained that he is more concerned about Libra’s global impact than the impact it will have in the United States. Per the report, he noted that “globally and in countries where there isn’t a lot of rule of law, or a …

The Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve has said that a globally adopted cryptocurrency system could conceivably remove the need for reserve currencies. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on July 11, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave his analysis of whether a cryptocurrency system with global prevalence could diminish — or even go so far as to remove the need for — so-called anchor currencies. With the U.S. dollar de facto the world’s dominant reserve currency, Powell acknowledged the possibility of a preeminent cryptocurrency redrawing the current financial landscape — yet noted that as of yet, this has stopped …