DIGITAL CURRENCY: The US government is afraid that this virtual currency, Libra by Facebook will be used to launder money or finance terrorism
The US government is not totally excited about Libra, Facebook’s cryptocurrency. On Monday, Donald Trump’s finance minister, Steven Mnuchin, issued a warning to Facebook about his virtual currency project, fearing that Libra would be used for the wrong reasons.
“The Treasury has very serious concerns about the Libra, which can be misused to launder money or finance terrorism,” said Steven Mnuchin. And to add that Facebook “was going to have a lot of work to do to convince” the Trump administration that it can set up this currency safely. Facebook is asked to “respect a very high level” of regulation.
“Protect our currency”
The US Finance Minister, in support of his remarks, recalled that Bitcoin, the first and main cryptocurrency, had been exploited in illegal activities weighing billions of dollars, ranging from tax evasion to extortion and trafficking in goods. drug.
While the Treasury welcomes “sympathetically responsible innovation” that can improve the efficiency of the financial system, “the goal of the department,” according to Steven Mnuchin, “is to maintain the integrity of the financial system.” “It is my responsibility to protect our currency,” the minister said. Pointing out that the integrity of money is “a matter of national security”.
For its part, the social network Facebook promised that it would not launch its currency, expected for 2020, before having answered all the concerns of the regulators, according to the promises of project manager within the American group, David Marcus .
