Facebook’s Libra in Focus as U.S. Group Visits Switzerland

(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc.’s Libra cryptocurrency will be discussed as a delegation of American lawmakers visits Switzerland in the coming days.

The group of six will hold a meeting with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner Adrian Lobsiger, NZZ am Sonntag reports, citing his spokesman. It will be led by Democrat Maxine Waters, who has previously spoken critically about the Facebook cryptocurrency project.

Libra, which some analysts view as a potentially major growth driver, has already attracted skepticism from lawmakers and regulators. Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, last month compared Facebook to Wells Fargo & Co. and Equifax Inc., two scandal-ridden companies that have come under scrutiny for harming consumers. If Facebook issues its Libra token, she added, the company will “wield immense power that could disrupt” governments and central banks.

California’s Waters and other committee Democrats have crafted legislation to bar the company from proceeding with the coin until it can be properly vetted. Facebook executive David Marcus has said that the company won’t go ahead ahead with the digital coin until regulators and governments across the world are satisfied.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Winters in Zurich at pwinters3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Todd White, Sara Marley

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