The CEO of a social investment firm believes that Facebook will have anticipated regulatory scrutiny. Kerim Derhalli of Invstr says recent issues for the social media giant will have prepared it well to deal with lawmakers with regards the crypto asset project.
He also says that he thinks the project ambitious. This may force Facebook to postpone currency’s launch past its scheduled 2020 goal.
Derhalli: Facebook Will Be Prepared to Deal With Regulators Over Crypto Ambitions
In case you missed it how, Facebook plans to launch a crypto asset of sorts. Called Libra, it will reportedly help to provide financial services to unbanked people around the world, will be pegged to a basket of fiat currencies, and, if you believe the musings of various crypto market analysts will help the social network’s billions of users get accustomed to digital currency.
Since Facebook first detailed its Libra crypto asset project on June 18, various regulatory bodies and interest groups have expressed concerns over it. Today, US Congress added itself to that list.
However, according to the CEO of social investment firm Invstr, Facebook will have expected to have to deal with regulators along the way.
As reported by technology publication The Verdict, Kerim Derhalli says that the firm’s recent experience during the Cambridge Analytica scandal and various other concerns about the protection of vulnerable users from harmful content will have prepared the company well for its inevitable clash with regulators.
Derhalli goes as far as to suggest that the immediate concern of governments around the world shows a different story altogether. In the CEO’s own words:
“Today’s plea from the US Congress demonstrates just how much state legislators are running scared of Facebook. The reality is that information and power is now in the hand of the tech companies, rather than politicians.”
Is a Functioning Libra by 2020 too Much for Facebook?
Although Derhalli is clearly optimistic about Facebook’s ability to deal with regulatory concerns over its new crypto project, he does think the timeline the company has set itself is a little optimistic.
“There is a long, rocky road ahead before we see Libra in the hands of the mass public.”
For the CEO, the sheer weight of regulatory pressure on the firm will likely delay the release of the company’s digital currency, and as such, will likely mean Libra will see its first use sometime after the tight 2020 launch date it specified last month.
Despite being such an ambitious effort, Derhalli says that if any company on earth is positioned financially and from a lobbying perspective to make the looming target it’s Facebook:
“But, this is Facebook. If anyone has the resource and lobbying power to launch in 2020, it’s them.”
Related Reading: Long-Held Bitcoin Critic is Bearish on Facebook’s Libra, But Flips Bullish on BTC
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