Social media giant Facebook has hired a lobbying firm to help smoothen the path to launching its proposed cryptocurrency Libra. According to a report published by O’Dwyer PR on Monday August 26th, Facebook may have tapped into the talents of FS Vector — a Washington-based consultancy firm with a specialty in regulatory compliance as well as public policy and business strategy for blockchain-related and financial services entities.
According to ProPublica’s lobbying disclosure database, FS Vector registered with the US Congress on August 23rd as a lobbyist for Facebook following a retainer fee paid by the company. In the records, the company noted that Facebook signed for its services starting on August 5th on matters “related to blockchain policy.”
The records do not specifically cite the Libra currency but it is easy to conclude that Facebook may have sought the extra help from people with more experience handling regulators as clearly it has failed to impress the Congress so far. FS Vector partner John Collins will be handling Facebook’s lobbying. Collins is a former Coinbase executive in charge of policy between September 2014 and January 2016. Before this, Collins had the privilege to work as a senior staffer for the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. During his time as a public servant, he worked on the very first congressional inquiry and hearing into crypto and blockchain back in 2013.
Facebook announced its plans to launch Libra in June and immediately faced regulatory lash back most notably from the House Financial Services Committee chairwoman and U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Ms Waters has since asked for a moratorium for Facebook to suspend development of the Libra cryptocurrency until the regulators approve of its plan.
In the latest attempt to understand the regulatory landscape of Libra as provided by the host country in Switzerland, Ms Waters took a trip to chat with the regulators that will be overseeing the startup. On Sunday, she gave a report saying that after meeting with the Swiss financial regulators, she is not yet sold on the Facebook vision and still maintains that Facebook is not qualified to launch this digital currency.
In July, David Marcus, Facebook exec in charge of Libra and the CEO of Calibra wallet – a Facebook subsidiary that will be representing its interest in the Swiss-registered Libra Association appeared before Congress to attest to the Facebook plans. In his testimony, Marcus claimed that Facebook’s choice to register the Libra Association in Switzerland was not advised by the need to avoid regulatory oversight. Instead he said that the decision was based on the fact that Switzerland provides a conducive environment for doing business.
