FT: US Regulator CFTC in Talks With Facebook Over Rumored Crypto Plans

Published at: June 3, 2019

United States regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is in talks with Facebook about its upcoming stablecoin launch, the Financial Times (FT) reported on June 2.

Citing chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, the publication revealed that Facebook is attempting to smooth out the regulatory landscape ahead of the asset, currently dubbed GlobalCoin, allegedly going live next year.

“We’re very interested in understanding it better,” the FT quoted Giancarlo as saying, himself adding that at present, no formal request for regulatory clearance had appeared.

“We can only act on an application, we don’t have anything in front of us,” he said.

As Cointelegraph reported, Facebook has created considerable buzz around its rumored plans for GlobalCoin, with various sources eyeing a form of global payment network spanning both the social media platform and its sister businesses Whatsapp and Instagram.

Users would ostensibly be able to send each other funds, as well as make in-app purchases.

Late May, the FT claimed Facebook executives were in similar preliminary discussions with U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini over the launch and potential liquidity solutions.

No party has yet confirmed the plans, which came via two anonymous sources.

Speaking to mainstream media last week, meanwhile, a senior executive of fellow U.S. platform BitPay suggested that once live, GlobalCoin would form one of the major motivating factors for catapulting bitcoin (BTC) into the public spotlight once more, along with boosting its price.

Tags
Related Posts
Celo Alliance Is out to Challenge Libra, Hoping for Less Red Tape
Several members of the Facebook-backed Libra Project have announced their alliance with a rival stablecoin project known as Celo. Since the middle of March, members that have joined the Celo Alliance for Prosperity include, among many others, Coinbase Ventures, Anchorage Mercy Corps, Andreessen Horowitz and Bison Trails Co. The shift in interest from one project to the other may signal the ultimate demise of Libra, as several companies have departed the project. In October of last year, the Libra Association took a major hit when five of its most prominent backers — PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and eBay — left. …
Altcoin / March 22, 2020
Fiat-Backed Stablecoins ⁠— Attempt to Take the Best of Both Worlds
Stablecoins attempt to be fiat currencies among cryptos. They can be a medium of exchange, a means of storing value and a unit of account. Unlike other digital coins, stablecoins are tied to some kind of stable asset — such as the United States dollar, euro or even gold. Linking to such assets confirms the coin’s stability and mitigating the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Related: Stablecoins Explained With this type of a token, an equal amount of fiat currency should be stored by the issuing company to back the value of the token. The owner of this token should be able …
Bitcoin / Oct. 6, 2019
European Commission Exec Questions Facebook’s Libra Stablecoin
Executive Vice President-Designate of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, has questioned the motives behind Facebook’s forthcoming Libra stablecoin. In an interview with the Financial Services Union of Denmark, a fragment of which was published on Oct. 1, Vestager addressed the possible impact from Libra’s launch — such as competition due to Facebook’s multimillion user base and distortion of competition in the payment services market. Vestager argued: "It's a pretty new thing that we are starting to question something that does not exist yet. But it is so far in the future that we cannot tell if this is going to …
Altcoin / Oct. 1, 2019
Facebook’s Libra Coin: Initial Reactions Mixed
Facebook has released its much anticipated white paper for the cryptocurrency Libra. The initial reviews of the highly secretive mega-project are mixed, to say the least. Before taking a look at responses across the cryptosphere, let’s have a quick recap of the Facebook proposal. The Libra coin proposal Libra is designed to be a global currency that aims to simplify cross-border micropayments and remittances enabled by its own blockchain, the Libra Blockchain. As excerpt from the white paper reads: “Just as people can use their phones to message friends anywhere in the world today, with Libra, the same can be …
Altcoin / June 20, 2019
US Lawmakers Want to Brand Libra a Security, Association Disagrees
A couple of United States lawmakers are looking to classify stablecoins as securities. With Libra considering adopting fiat-pegged stablecoins rather than a single token supported by a basket of national currencies, the proposed crypto project might be facing yet another regulatory hurdle. Meanwhile, lawmakers sponsoring the bill say stablecoins should be classified as securities to protect U.S. consumers. If passed, stablecoin projects like Libra will potentially fall under the purview of stringent U.S. securities regulations. Critics of the move remark that such measures only serve to further dampen the country’s position in the emerging digital landscape. Some commentators have long …
United States / Dec. 1, 2019