Facebook’s plan to launch its Libra cryptocurrency is facing considerable pushback from federal officials who’ve raised concerns about the prospect of it being used to skirt anti-money laundering rules and fund other illicit activities.
House Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have already circulated draft legislation aimed at barring U.S. tech companies with annual revenue of $25 billion from issuing digital currencies and fining those that do so up to $1 million per day. The bill, which would effectively prohibit Facebook from behaving like a financial institution, is titled “Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act.”
Steven Mnuchin, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, just concluded an official briefing on crypto regulation and various security issues related to assets like bitcoin and Libra.
Echoing the statement released by U.S. President Donald Trump a few days ago, Mnuchin reaffirmed the speculative nature of crypto assets.