It’s been a little more than a month since Facebook announced its digital currency, Libra, and less than a week after Donald Trump lambasted cryptocurrency. Now, US lawmakers from the Democratic party are hard at work, trying to draft legislation that would hit hard at big tech brand that attempt to either create their own cryptocurrency or act as a financial institution.
According to Reuters, the new bill – should it become law – proposes a fine of US$1 million per day for violations against tech giants that create, keep, and promote the use of their digital currency. The bill specifies that “a large platform utility may not establish, maintain, or operate a digital asset that is intended to be widely used a medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, or any other similar function, as defined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System”.
While the draft doesn’t outrightly point fingers, it’s clear that the bill is aimed towards Facebook’s Libra, and with good reason. During its official announcement, Facebook revealed that it had obtained the backings from several major financial organisations. Including Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal.
On a somewhat related note; In the following days after Libra’s announcement, the value of Bitcoin spiked from an average of RM33000, reaching a value of nearly RM60000 and settling at the RM45000 average (at the time of writing).
However, it’s unlikely that the legislation would even pass; As pointed out by Reuters, it’s likely that it will be met with swift opposition by members of the Republican party, who are apparently more keen on the innovation that cryptocurrency and Facebook’s Libra could bring.
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