Libra’s a safe, secure and regulated alternative to decentralized cryptocurrency: Mark Zuckerberg

During Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional hearing on Libra, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney raised the question on Facebook’s intent behind gaining regulatory clearance. In this regard, the Facebook CEO clarified that the company aims to seek approval from all of the regulators that have jurisdiction over Libra’s line of business. Claiming to be different from “other decentralized and deregulated” ecosystems, he also highlighted,

“Libra is trying to build a safe, secure and regulated alternative. The digital payments space needs that. We are going to work with the U.S. government to get to the same standards as the leading financial institutions if not exceed it.”

Touching on the AML and CFT aspect in relation to Libra’s future partnership with anonymous wallets, Zuckerberg could not guarantee Facebook’s role in controlling that aspect, although he clarified that Facbook’s in-house wallet, Calibra, will meet all the required U.S. regulations prior launch. Moreover, he clarified,

“Being able to put idea into the world and letting people choose for themselves what they trust and what services they want to use is probably the right approach.”

Later in the hearing, Congressman Bradley Sherman pointed out that Libra posed a serious threat to the U.S. dollar as the “sole reserve currency in the world,” which currently serves all the needs except “it’s bad for tax evaders, drug dealers and terrorists.” He highlighted,

“Those who are introducing cryptocurrency have got to pause and wonder what effect they’ll have on the power of the U.S. to impose sanctions. We stand to loose all that because cryptocurrency is the currency of the crypto patriot.”