By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 12th, 2024
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee delegation plans to visit Switzerland to exchange views about Facebook’s Libra with the Swiss FDPIC Adrian Lobsiger.
A United States House of Representatives delegation plans to visit Switzerland on cryptocurrency concerns. Libra stablecoin, which is the Facebook‘s project, will be the primary focus of these discussions. A group of six lawmakers will hold a meeting with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) Adrian Lobsiger.
The delegation from the House Financial Services Committee will have talks about digital assets with Adrian Lobsiger who is the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.
It’s also known that the head of the delegation, Maxine Waters, has a qiote negative attitude toward Libra and previously requested that Facebook stop all Libra’s developments until the alleged risks it poses could be properly examined.
Swiss Regulations
The upcoming visit from these U.S. regulators aims to clarify regulatory challenges surrounding Libra. As we reported earlier, Rep. Maxine Waters called in Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify about his company’s new project Libra. In the hearings before the House Financial Services Committee in July, many representatives expressed their discomfort with the token being regulated from Switzerland.
David Marcus assured Rep. Bill Huizenga in the hearings that the social media company had been in touch with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. Hugo Wyler, the head of communications at the FDPIC, afterward commented. He stated that Facebook had never contacted the regulator about the registration of its Libra project.
What followed was FDPIC sending a letter to the Libra Association asking for details about the Libra project:
“The FDPIC stated in his letter that he had not received any indication on what personal data may be processed. Thus, the Libra Association should inform him of the current status of the project so that he could assess the extent to which his advisory competences and supervisory powers would apply.”
Marcus Replies
In mid-July, Marcus explained the reasons why Facebook chose to register its Libra Association in Switzerland instead of the United States. He said that the choice of Switzerland did not have anything to do with evading any US oversight or regulations.
Marcus believes that the Swiss jurisdiction is an ideal international place that is conducive to doing business. Switzerland is a renowned hub for international financial groups including the Bank for International Settlements.
Soon after that hearing, Marcus confirmed Facebook’s commitment to bring Libra online in the U.S. with full regulatory support. He confirmed that Libra’s associated Calibra wallet plans will comply fully with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s regulations.