U.S. officials still concerned about Facebook’s Libra after visiting Switzerland
U.S. lawmakers are still concerned about the idea of Facebook launching its own cryptocurrency Libra despite their visit to Switzerland, according to an official statement published by the Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee on Sunday, August 25.
Per Rep. Maxine Waters, the U.S. delegation comprised of the House Financial Services Committee members met Swiss lawmakers and various representatives of regulators during the visit to the country. Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which oversees the circulation of cryptocurrencies, was among the institutions in the list.
In the official press release which sums up the results of the visit Waters wrote:
While I appreciate the time that the Swiss government officials took to meet with us, my concerns remain with allowing a large tech company to create a privately controlled, alternative global currency.
As previously communicated, the U.S. officials scheduled a visit to Switzerland in order to discuss how Swiss lawmakers would treat Facebook’s much anticipated Libra and to learn more about the project itself.
In May, Facebook chose Switzerland as a jurisdiction for its upcoming Libra Project. Back then, the social media giant registered Libra Networks with Facebook Global Holdings as a stakeholder in the city of Geneva.
In June, Facebook finally announced the launch of Libra officially. The blockchain ecosystem for Libra is set to launch in the first half of 2020, along with Facebook’s own crypto wallet Calibra.
Meanwhile, U.S. legislators have not yet given green light to the project. Representative Maxine Waters, previously requested Facebook to stop working on Libra until the regulators analyze it and “take action.”
