WASHINGTON—The House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing on Facebook’s proposed virtual currency Libra on July 17.
The announcement came from committee chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who previously had called on Facebook to cease work on Libra until Congress and regulators had a chance to scrutinize the proposal, Cointelegraph reported.
“Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action.”
‘Wake-up Call’
In her statement, Waters also commented on the lack of uniform regulation in the cryptocurrency market and said that regulators should view Facebook’s plans for Libra “as a wake-up call to get serious about the privacy and national security concerns, cybersecurity risks, and trading risks that are posed by cryptocurrencies.”
The Senate Banking Committee is also reportedly scheduled to hear about the details of Libra on July 16, in a session called "Examining Facebook's Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations."