Samuel OskysThe Democratic majority stated:
A large platform utility may not establish, maintain, or operate a digital asset that is intended to be widely used as 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.
The “Keep Big Tech Out Of Finance Act” would penalize companies that gross $25 billion per year in revenue. The Act has emerged at a time of scrutiny from legislators following the announcement of Facebooks Libra coin which has the potential exposure of 2.7 billion users each month.
Libra would have a global audience and will be widely accepted by retailers and a network of ATMs with CEO Mark Zuckerberg commenting “should be as easy and cost-effective as, and even safer and secure then, sending a text message or sharing a photo.”
Despite the proposed new bill, it is likely that pro-innovation Republicans will take a stand against the bill and block it from passing. If this move is unsuccessful the bill would still face resistance if it manages to pass the lower chamber and move on to be debated in the U.S. Senate.
Following the announcement of Libra, a noteworthy renewed interest in crypto has been noted with the U.S. President Donald Trump publicly voicing his opinion of the opposition of cryptocurrency, with specific references to both Bitcoin and Libra. Despite the bad press, those within the crypto industry has taken the president address and acknowledgment as a huge milestone for the industry of crypto.
The Effect on the value of Libra and BTC
The Presidents comment has created a lot of talk in the industry as to how Libra will impact the BTC industry with Alex Krüger tweeting:
On the positive side, a bitcoin ban seems out of the question. However, a US ban was unthinkable 5 days ago, before the Trump tweet. On the negative side, Libra (which is positive for $BTC) seems toast, while institutional interest in the asset class may diminish.
Opinions remain divided and the topic left up for debate until more information on the proposed bill is made clear until then the future of Libra remains questionable.
