House panel seeks Zuckerberg testimony on Facebook cryptocurrency: report

A House panel is seeking testimony from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on the launch of Facebook’s cryptocurrency, dubbed Libra.

Reuters reported Friday that the House Financial Services Committee is requesting testimony from Zuckerberg before January, and has already secured an agreement from Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to speak to the panel.

{mosads}The committee did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill. Facebook announced plans earlier this year to launch Libra as part of the company’s efforts to allow users to make more financial transactions on the platform.

Facebook plans to launch the cryptocurrency next year, even as Democrats on the Financial Services panel have considered a bill to ban the project altogether.

The Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act, announced in June, would, if passed, prohibit Facebook and other large tech companies from providing financial services including cryptocurrencies.

President Trump is also seen as a skeptic of the project, and tweeted earlier this year that he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies while suggesting that Facebook should apply for a national bank charter and enter the financial services industry in a more traditional manner.

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity,” Trump tweeted in June.