With the US Senate anticipated to vote on laws to control fee stablecoins quickly, two senators referred to as on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reply questions concerning the firm’s potential plans to introduce one other stablecoin.
In a Wednesday letter to Zuckerberg, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal mentioned it was “extra essential than ever that Congress and the general public totally perceive the extent of Meta’s plans” for stablecoins, given the scale of the tech firm and the anticipated vote on the GENIUS Act within the Senate.
The 2 lawmakers requested the CEO to offer info on any corporations with which Meta might have consulted concerning stablecoins in 2025 and any affect it might have had on the stablecoin invoice within the Senate.
Notably, Warren and Blumenthal introduced up Fb’s Libra and Diem stablecoin initiatives, which the corporate shut down amid widespread opposition from worldwide regulators. Within the letter, the senators expressed concern about US President Donald Trump issuing a waiver to Meta beneath the GENIUS Act, permitting the corporate to “sidestep” rules imposed on different stablecoin issuers.
“If Meta managed its personal stablecoin, the corporate might additional pry into customers’ transactions and business exercise,” wrote the senators. “The huge quantities of client knowledge it could ingest might assist Meta gas surveillance pricing schemes on its platform, extra intrusive focused promoting, or in any other case assist the corporate monetize delicate personal info by gross sales to 3rd social gathering knowledge brokers.”
The letter adopted stories suggesting that Meta was exploring the combination of stablecoin funds into its platforms, which embody Fb, Instagram, Threads, Messenger and WhatsApp. Whether or not the corporate might intend to make use of stablecoin from issuers like Tether or Circle — USDT and USDC, respectively — or pursue its personal venture was unclear on the time of publication.
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It is a growing story, and additional info shall be added because it turns into accessible.