FinTech News
Zuckerberg Heading Back to Capitol Hill to Talk Libra
Ever since Facebook initially announced plans for the cryptocurrency Libra, it’s faced a seemingly endless wave of critiques and inquiries from regulators. Neverthless the company has remained resolute, saying it would continue to pursue its plans while working to assuage concerns. Now, as part of those efforts, it’s been revealed that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be testifying before congress about Libra.
According to CNBC, Zuckerberg is slated to appear before the House Financial Services Committee. That’s the same panel that previously sent a letter to Facebook detailing the issues they had with the company’s Libra plans. Calibra CEO David Marcus testified before the committee a few days after that letter was received while Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is reportedly in talks to appear as early as this month. In a concise statement, a Facebook spokesperson said of Zuckerberg’s testimony, “Mark looks forward to testifying before the House Financial Services Committee and responding to lawmakers’ questions.”
The announcement of Zuckerberg’s appearance comes as issues Libra has faced with regulators at home and abroad have begun to impact the crypto’s planned partners. Last week PayPal revealed that it was pulling out of the 28-company coalition behind Libra with CNBC reporting that others were also reconsidering their position. Explaining their departure, PayPal said in a statement, “PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations.”
This is of course not Zuckerberg’s first trip to Capitol Hill. The CEO has previously testified in regards to privacy concerns surrounding Facebook. Those perceptions bleed into Congressional members’ issues with Libra as some fear that the cryptocurrency will not only give the tech giant even more power but also put consumers’ financial info at risk.
