Fed to Probe Facebook Crypto as Jerome Powell Flags ‘Serious Concerns’

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Fed has set up a working group to look into the ramifications of Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans.

Powell’s comment was in reply to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters’s question on whether the Fed is speaking with Facebook about its crypto plans and whether the central bank has any monetary concerns with regard to Libra.

“We did actually have a meeting with representatives of Facebook a couple of months before the announcement,” Powell answered, adding that “Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection and financial stability. These are concerns that should be thoroughly and publicly addressed before proceeding.”

For more on Fed’s Powell Delivers Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report to House Panel, click here for our TOPLive blog.

To contact the reporters on this story: Steve Matthews in Atlanta at smatthews@bloomberg.net;Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Giulia Camillo at gcamillo@bloomberg.net

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