On July 2, US lawmakers, in an open letter to Facebook, called upon the company to cease all development of its Libra cryptocurrency, writing that the proposed digital currency could create "an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intended to rival US monetary policy and the dollar". During this moratorium, the lawmakers wrote, "we intend to hold public hearings on the risks and benefits of cryptocurrency-based activities and explore legislative solutions. Failure to cease implementation before we can do so, risks a new Swiss-based financial system that is too big to fail." The letter said Libra raises "serious privacy, trading, national security, and monetary policy concerns for not only Facebook's over two billion users, but also for investors, consumers, and the broader global economy". Signed by Representative Maxine Waters and four other House Democrats, the letter said that while Facebook had published a white paper on Libra and Calibra, it had provided little information about the intent, roles, potential use, and security of these products, and that this "exposed the massive scale of the risks and the lack of clear regulatory protections". If products and services like these were left improperly regulated and without sufficient oversight, they could "pose systemic risks that endanger US and global financial stability", the letter said. Waters had hinted at such a move last month, shortly after Facebook unveiled Libra. The letter also mentioned Facebook's various privacy issues, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm got access to the data of more…
