U.S. Financial Services Committee Probes Meta's Cryptocurrency Interests
Summary:
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee is urging Meta to clarify its potential plans surrounding blockchain and cryptocurrency, citing five active trademark applications from 2022. The trademark filings seemingly indicate Meta's intention to be involved in the digital assets ecosystem, contrary to previous assertions. The committee seeks to understand Meta's intentions with these applications, their plans about projects related to Web3, cryptocurrency, or digital wallets, and their research into stablecoins. Moreover, the deadline looms for Meta's response to the Notice of Allowance for these filings. Meta has not yet commented.
Meta is facing increased scrutiny from the U.S. House Financial Services Committee for potential plans about blockchain or cryptocurrency, as evidenced by five active crypto-linked trademark applications of 2022. In a letter dated 22nd January, committee leader, Maxine Waters, expressed concern to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO and founder, and Javier Olivan, COO, over these trademarks registered on March 18, 2022. According to her, these applications suggest Meta's ongoing interest in digital assets, a cause for concern as it contradicts Meta's statement to Democratic Financial Services Committee personnel on October 12, 2023 denying such activity. Back in mid-2019, amid legislative pressure, Meta was forced to discard the launch of its crypto stablecoin, Diem (previously known as Libra). This venture was sold off to the now-defunct Silvergate Bank for $200 million at the start of 2022. Meta also had to set aside plans from mid-2019 to launch a digital wallet, Novi (previously named Calibra), by 2020; a new release date has yet to be established. The submitted trademarks consist of various services related to cryptocurrency, including trading, exchange, payments, wallet transfers, and the associated technological infrastructure. Each filing has received a Notice of Allowance (NOA) - proof that the application is in compliance with the registration conditions. Meta now has half a year to provide a statement claiming their right to use the trademark or apply for a six-month extension. The earliest response deadline from the first NOA, sent on August 15, 2023, is February 15. The most recent one sent on January 16 has a deadline of July 16 for a response. Waters has further inquired about Meta's plan of action in response to the NOAs, its intentions to explore any projects related to Web3, cryptocurrency, or digital wallets, and the possibility of a crypto payments platform. The extent of Meta's research into stablecoins and the probability of ties with stablecoin ventures, its interest in decentralized ledger technology (DLT), and potential implementation of crypto functions in its metaverse underwent scrutiny in her inquiry. Meta has yet to comment. In other news, NFT Creator ThankYouX's career takes a dramatic lift-off into space, thanks to Sotheby's.
Published At
1/23/2024 4:07:41 AM
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