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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has concerns about Facebook’s cryptocurrency and its potential illicit use.
In a press conference Monday, he Facebook’s proposed digital currency, Libra, “could be misused by money launderers and terrorist financiers” and that it was a “national security issue.”
The press conference comes days after President Donald Trump said he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. He also suggested Facebook, which plans on launching a global cryptocurrency next year, would need a bank charter to do so.
Bitcoin dropped sharply on Monday following the president’s criticism on Twitter. The world’s first and most valuable digital currency fell roughly 10% to a low of $9,872 Monday.
Others in Washington have also called for more clarity on Facebook’s project. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that he had “serious concerns, ” including money laundering and consumer protection, and set up a working group within the central bank to examine it. Congress members from both political parties have also questioned Facebook’s motives. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, asked the tech giant to delay the project, which she said was a continuation of its “unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users.”
In June, Facebook announced that it would launch a cryptocurrency run by the nonprofit Switzerland-based Libra Association in 2020. The digital asset will not be controlled or fully run by Facebook, according to its white paper. Instead, it’s being run by a number other stakeholders that include Uber, Mastercard, Stripe, Visa, PayPal and Spotify. Still, Facebook has plans to profit from it through a new subsidiary, Calibra, that is building a digital wallet to store and exchange the cryptocurrency.
Facebook’s David Marcus, head of Facebook’s Calibra digital wallet that will be used to store Libra, is scheduled to testify before the committee on July 16, while the House Financial Services Committee will hold its own hearing focused on Libra on July 17. Marcus responded to questions from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in a letter Tuesday, saying the company needs governments, central banks and regulators involved to properly launch the digital asset and Facebook “can’t do this alone.”
