Mark Zuckerberg testified before the United States House of Representatives hearing on Libra cryptocurrency

On October 23 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on issues around cryptocurrency Libra. In a six hours long hearing Mr Zuckerberg has said multiple times that Libra is intended to be a payment system and not a currency. In his opinion Libra should not be regulated as a bank.

Later in the hearing he referred to Libra as a stablecoin. Mr Zuckerberg pledged not to release Libra until full compliance with the US and global financial institutions. ‘Libra will not launch anywhere in the world if not complied to the US law.’ he added. It will comply with financial regulations around the Anti Money-laundering and Countering the Financing of Terorism (AML/CFT) posed by Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In answering what is the driving force behind Libra, Zuckerberg added that ‘Biggest question for the future is competitiveness’.

On question why did the Libra Association (independent, non-profit body which will control the work of Libra cryptocurrency) chose Switzerland as an Association headquarters, he said that: when developing global payment system, Geneva is an easy choice, as a place with many international organisations. In answering the question would he reconsider to move Libra Association to the US, he said that he cannot control that decision.

On the question of data privacy, Mz Zuckerberg testified that Facebook will impose strict control of data access via Calibra, Facebook’s subsidiary company in the Libra Association.