What Does the US Senate Want To Know About Facebook Coin?

By Prashant Jha

The United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is reportedly asking social media major Facebook for more information on its rumoured native cryptocurrency project Facebook Coin. The committee has sent in a letter, dated May 9, 2019, to Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The social media company has earlier been at the focal point of legislator’s attention when user data privacy concerns and scandals gained traction last year. In April 2018, the founder and CEO of the company himself testified before members of the Congress and answered questions they had about Facebook’s practices and approach towards user data. Facebook ran into trouble in Canada as well, after the company reportedly violated the country’s privacy legislations.

The Senate committee’s letter asked Facebook if the company collected data specific to their users’ credit capacity and credit standing, or information that would enable advertisers assess their ability to secure credit.

Little is known about Facebook’s extremely secretive Project Libra, the project meant to develop its own cryptocurrency. The crypto is rumoured to be a stablecoin that will have a unique model. Facebook has already set out to raise funding for this highly guarded project, reportedly in tune of a billion dollars. Major venture capitalists such as Tim Draper have also shown interest in the project.

Since Facebook does not have a very good track record when it comes to decentralization, it is quite doubtful as to how well it will really manage to retain the essence of a true blue cryptocurrency, which thrives by being a decentralized, peer-to-peer currency system. Yet, despite doubts, the crypto world is definitely excited to welcome a new entrant and if Facebook responds to the letter with some more info, we are sure everyone will be all too ready to analyse it.