Facebook Downplays Amount of Control, Access Over Cryptocurrency Project

Facebook downplayed Wednesday the amount of access and control it will have over a new cryptocurrency project (see 1906190060). Lawmakers and consumer groups sought a moratorium on the so-called Project Libra. The company has done a lot to “democratize free, unlimited communications for billions of people,” and it wants to do the same with digital money, blogged Calibra Head David Marcus: The key difference this time is Facebook will “relinquish control over the very network and currency we’ve helped create.” The company created the subsidiary Calibra, a virtual wallet service integrated with Libra. Facebook will own and control Calibra but “won’t see financial data from Calibra,” Marcus wrote. Facebook also is only one of 28 founding members that include Mastercard, Visa and PayPal. All members will play a part in naming a managing director and establishing governance rules, Marcus said. The system is designed to limit the power of any single organization, he said. The company is committed to working with lawmakers, central banks and regulators as it prepares to launch the new currency, said Marcus, who will testify before the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees “in the weeks to come.” Libra's goal is to “bring the world closer together,” he said. Individuals who can’t afford traditional banking services, struggle with meeting minimum balances and can’t afford associated penalties, he said.