Facebook hires Zook to lobby on Libra
Facebook has added Susan Zook of Mason Street Consulting to its team of lobbyists working to sell lawmakers on its new Libra cryptocurrency. Zook is a former aide to Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which held a hearing on Libra last month. She’ll focus on lobbying Senate Republicans, she […]
David Marcus, the Head of Calibra at Facebook: Libra, 2 Weeks In
It’s been two weeks since we introduced Libra, a new cryptocurrency powered by blockchain technology. We shared a white paper, a number of deep-dive papers on important topics, a testnet, and additional material. Since then, we’ve seen a lot of great dialogue from many different viewpoints. It’s been encouraging how receptive so many people have […]
Facebook’s cryptocurrency is a centralized wolf in decentralized sheep’s clothing
Facebook’s Libra whitepaper introduction reads like an epiphany many of us had when we first learned about bitcoin. “Sending money across the globe should be as simple and inexpensive as sending a message on your phone.” Yes, in the internet age, that seems possible. “Financial infrastructure should be globally inclusive and governed as a public […]
Facebook will reportedly announce cryptocurrency this month, allowing employees to take it as salary
Facebook will announce its cryptocurrency later this month, and will allow employees working on the project to take their salary in the form of the new currency, according to a report in The Information. About a year ago, the company appointed former PayPal executive David Marcus to begin exploring opportunities with blockchain, the technological underpinning […]
Facebook Is Developing a Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers
Facebook Inc. is working on making a cryptocurrency that will let users transfer money on its WhatsApp messaging app, focusing first on the remittances market in India, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is developing a stablecoin — a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar — to minimize volatility, […]
Google Ends Cryptocurrency Ad Ban
Google is ending its sweeping ban on cryptocurrency-related advertising and plans to allow regulated crypto exchanges to buy ads in the United States and Japan. The new policy starts in October. Google’s original restrictions, which it announced in March and rolled out in June, were intended to protect consumers and included initial coin offerings (ICOs), […]
Facebook’s David Marcus Quits Coinbase to Avoid ‘Appearance’ of Conflict of Interest
Facebook blockchain head David Marcus announced he was quitting his position on the board of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Friday, August 10, in a statement seen by various media outlets. Marcus, who joined the exchange’s board in December 2017 and took on a blockchain research group at Facebook in May, said he now thinks it […]