The head of the United Kingdom’s central bank has said Facebook’s new libra cryptocurrency could have genuine use cases if it can conform to regulatory demands, the Financial Times (FT) reported on June 18. Speaking at a conference of central bankers in Portugal, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England (BoE), delivered mixed reviews of libra. The in-house stablecoin for Facebook has sparked predictions of blanket bans by governments since developers unveiled it this week. “The governor said the BoE was there to guarantee financial and monetary stability and would look at Facebook’s proposals ‘very closely and in a …

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 …

French Minister of the Economy and Finance intends to “ask for guarantees” from Facebook in regards to its forthcoming digital currency Libra, media outlet Europe 1 reported on June 18. The Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 that Facebook’s long-awaited stablecoin Libra is an “attribute of the sovereignty of the States” and should “remain in the hands of the States and not of the private companies which answer to private interests". Le Maire stated that he will “ask for guarantees” from the social media giant such as "the guarantee that this instrument of transaction …

Head of blockchain at social media giant Facebook David Marcus said that the Libra Project will distance itself from bitcoin (BTC) and will share information with authorities, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 18. Per the report, Marcus made his remarks during an interview with Brazilian newspaper Estado de São Paulo, which was published today. During the interview, he said that Libra’s data will be shared with authorities for crime prevention and to ensure compliance with regulation. The article also claims that Facebook does initially not plan to profit off of Libra transaction fees and intends to keep the costs associated …

Binance Research, the research arm of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, claims that Facebook’s Libra stablecoin could spark additional cryptocurrency volume in a post published on its blog on June 18. In the announcement concerning the release of the full report, Binance Research claims: “Libra could spark additional cryptocurrency volume due to increased accessibility from both institutional players and everyday retail users.” Furthermore, the post also notes that the researchers anticipate that the Libra will have a significant impact on both local and global markets, financial and economic industries, as well as in the cryptocurrency space. This influence will manifest after …

Social media giant Facebook has released the white paper for its long-awaited cryptocurrency and blockchain-based financial infrastructure project today, June 18. According to the paper, Facebook’s global stablecoin, dubbed “libra,” will operate on the native and scalable Libra blockchain, and be backed by a reserve of assets ostensibly “designed to give it intrinsic value” and mitigate volatility fluctuations. These assets consist of a basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities that will be held in the Libra Reserve for every Libra that is issued. The website for the digital asset, calibra.com, was briefly down around 5AM EST, about when …

On June 10, one of the top cryptocurrency media sites, CCN, initially announced that it would shut down, citing a June 3 Google Core Update for stifling its traffic. Writing on the website, the director and founder of CCN Markets and Hawkfish AS, Jonas Borchgrevink, blamed the update for an overnight fall of 71% of the site’s mobile traffic. While Borchgrevink noted that ups and downs are part of the business, such a vertiginous fall is unprecedented in its history. At the time of the post, the founder said that it could not support new additions to its team or …

South American online marketplace Mercado Libre is working with Facebook on the social network’s Libra cryptocurrency project, Cointelegraph Brazil reports on June 14. A MercadoLibre executive told Cointelegraph Brazil that the purported cryptocurrency will be integrated into the e-commerce platform as a form of payment. While the anonymous executive confirmed the partnership, further details were not forthcoming. The executive stated that it was likely the company would operate as a node in Facebook’s purportedly forthcoming blockchain network. Mercado Libre is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in South America with operations in 19 countries. According to a recent report, …

Top Stories This Week CCN casts doubt on shutdown plans as Google appears to correct visibility Cryptocurrency news outlet CCN (formerly CryptoCoinsNews) is apparently not going through with its total shutdown, as reported earlier this week. The outlet had previously posted a note that a recent Google Core Update had led to a more than 70% visibility drop on mobile overnight, leading the organization to decide to shut down rather than downsize. However, an update this week from CCN Markets Director Jonas Borchgrevink notes that, for an unexplained reason, the crypto outlet’s old domain name, CryptoCoinNews, has been showing up …

Social media giant Facebook will unveil the Libra Association, which will operate its bespoke cryptocurrency Libra, on June 18, cryptocurrency news outlet The Block reported on June 14. Per the report, Facebook and dozens of its partners will unveil the Libra Association — which will be based out of Geneva — as the entity that will oversee the company’s Libra cryptocurrency project. During the event, the company is also expected to launch the testnet of its blockchain. The Block claims to have seen an unspecified blog post from Facebook, according to which the Libra crypto asset will be hosted on …

Social media platform Facebook has reportedly secured support from dozens of players in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector for its forthcoming digital currency. The overall roster was announced by technology-focused media outlet the Block on June 14. Earlier today, news broke that Facebook has allegedly sealed backing from over a dozen firms that include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber for its soon-to-be-unveiled cryptocurrency project, dubbed “Libra.” Together, these investors form the Libra Association. The materials cited by the Block indicate that the consortium formed to govern the project will also include investors such as venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and …

Global investment bank RBC Capital Markets believes that Facebook’s upcoming crypto project will be a major milestone in the firm’s history, CNBC reports June 14. In a note to investors, RBC Capital analysts Mark Mahaney and Zachary Schwartzman reportedly said that Facebook’s long-rumored stablecoin project “may prove to be one of the most important initiatives in the history of the company.” A part of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), RBC Capital predicted that the social media giant’s cryptocurrency project will “unlock new engagement and revenue streams.” According to the report, RBC Capital expects the project’s white paper to be …