WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services has published a letter addressed to Facebook’s executives requesting a suspension of activities on Libra, the company’s new cryptocurrency.
The committee cited the lack of clear intentions and regulations for the work of the Libra Association, the Swiss organization that will oversee the coin. It also expressed reservations about Facebook’s wallet Calibra, along with privacy and security concerns, Ledger Insights reported.
The letter was signed by the chair of the Committee on Financial Services as well as the chairs of four financial subcommittees: Maxine Waters (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D, N.Y.), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Al Green (D-TX) and Stephen Lynch (D-MA).
The letter outlines how the committee thinks Libra could disrupt the current financial system and negatively affect investors and consumers. A concern is that Switzerland-based Libra Association is backed by 27 financially powerful companies, aiming for more by 2020, without any clear rules on impartiality, Ledger Insights reported, adding the committee fears a giant conglomerate-run system “that is too big to fail”.
“If products and services like these are left improperly regulated and without sufficient oversight, they could pose systemic risks that endanger the U.S. and global financial stability,” the letter reads.