The US Federal Reserve System has added its voice to the chorus of doubts raised by lawmakers, politicians and others worldwide about Facebook’s newly announced cryptocurrency, Libra. While speaking to House lawmakers Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank has “serious concerns” about Libra, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Facebook last month revealed the global digital coin, which will be managed by a governing body called the Libra Association and through a wallet named Calibra.
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Facebook is working alongside 27 launch partners for Libra, including PayPal, Visa, Uber, Coinbase, Lyft, Mastercard, Vodafone, eBay and Spotify, but aims to have 100 members in the Libra Association by 2020.
Republican and Democratic Senators sharply questioned Facebook Inc.’s plan to create its own digital money, adding to a chorus of skepticism across Washington and underscoring the challenges the company faces in getting its cryptocurrency off the ground.
“Do you really think people should trust Facebook with their hard earned money?” Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the banking panel, asked. “I just think that is delusional.”
Further, he also stated that, “We’d be crazy to give them a chance to let them experiment with people’s bank accounts, like a toddler who has gotten his hands on a book of matches, Facebook has burned down the house over and over and called every arson a learning experience. ”
Facebook’s top executive on the project David Marcus pledged to address their concerns about the token, called Libra. “We will take the time to get this right,” he told the committee, testifying in a packed hearing room.
