Facebook’s Libra Comes Under House Scrutiny
This week on the Hill Congress questioned David Marcus, head of Facebook’s Calibra initiative on the social network’s proposed new cryptocurrency, Libra. Lawmakers tried to get a handle on how the federal government could monitor and manage this new payment system that could potentially allow users to easily transfer money. Facebook says the new coin will help those who may not be able to afford or don’t have access to a traditional bank. Marcus told lawmakers Facebook will wait to launch Libra until they have addressed all regulatory concerns.
Japan to Create New Crypto Trading Platform
The Japanese government recently announced plans to develop a new international cryptocurrency trading platform to help prevent money laundering through digital assets. The new network would be similar to the SWIFT network currently used by banks to send money around the world. In 2017 Japan became the first country to regulate cryptocurrencies. The developers plan for the platform to be operational in a few years.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Investigating BitMEX
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently launched an investigation into cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, and whether the exchange allowed American users to trade on the platform. In January BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes said the exchange removed anyone from the US from its platform, however, he agreed that users could hide their true location through a VPN.
