Thread by @nlw

Libra Hearings DAY 2 - House Financial Services Committee pscp.tv/w/b_83RjE0Nzc1…

Duffy just made one of the strongest arguments I've seen from an anti-censorship standpoint. Even for folks who think that FB is free to deplatform whomever because it's a private company, he argues that money is fundamentally different & it can't be subject to one set of morals

Foster

"This to me looks EXACTLY like an ETF"

Asks: Doesnt basket expose citizens to foreign currency risk for the first time?

Stivers asks a really basic question on demand: [paraphrasing] What is there in it for people domestically who don't have a need for cross border payments?

Stivers asks will the Libra Association be able to reject applicants whose politics they don't agree with.

Marcus says "not our call, it's the Association."

NEED clarity on Governance is the underlying.

WOW WOW WOW

Sherman just said Libra could be more dangerous to America than 9/11.

Really dude?

Sherman

"America's power comes from the power of the dollar more than from the power of the military...the seinorage has allowed the fed to transfer $100m in some years to the treasury...sanctions only because of the power of the dollar"

"If cryptocurrency is used to finance the next attack against Americans...100 lawyers charging $2000 an hour aren't going to stand between him [Zuckerberg] and the wrath of Americans"

When Barr asked Marcus how it will benefit the unbanked/underbanked in the US, it was the first time that I heard Marcus say *explicitly* that the US wasn't its main market.

Barr just referenced Powells testimony "whereas Bitcoin does not really present a threat to central banks, this could, b/c of Facebooks [billions] of users -- wide enough to potentially displace the US dollar"

Asks: How will Libra not undermine central banks, or is that the Pt?

Foster says he's the only blockchain programmer in Congress. Asks "if I own the cryptographic key, do I own the coin?"

When answer was "yes" - asks how you prevent that from heading out on to the dark web

Foster says "so we have to trust that every single wallet around the world falls under a regulatory regime that we like?"

And we're in recess! Back live again when they're all back. Let's go @Melt_Dem!

@Melt_Dem Here's the next session pscp.tv/w/b_9CWDE0Nzc1…