{"id":102205,"date":"2024-11-30T02:33:37","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T06:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/?p=102205"},"modified":"2024-11-30T02:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T06:34:28","slug":"political-pressure-killed-fbs-libra-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/political-pressure-killed-fbs-libra-project\/","title":{"rendered":"David Marcus: Political Pressure Killed Facebook’s Libra Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss revealed that US Secretary Janet Yellen's decision to close Facebook Libra was a political witch hunt<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"David<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David Marcus, the former head of Facebook\u2019s now-defunct Libra stablecoin project, later renamed Diem<\/a>, disclosed how the Biden administration halted its progress despite meeting all regulatory requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his post titled \u201cHow Libra Was Killed,\u201d<\/em> Marcus details the political maneuvering that led to the project's demise, emphasizing the role of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in influencing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to block its approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libra Was Politically Killed, Says Marcus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Marcus revealed that Libra aimed to create a transformative blockchain-powered stablecoin to improve global payments and tackle financial crime, money laundering, and consumer protection issues. Announced in June 2019 with 28 initial partners, the project faced immediate and intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the launch, Marcus was summoned to testify before the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. In response, his team made substantial revisions to the project over two years, only to abandon it due to continued resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2021, Marcus claims that Libra met all regulatory conditions for a limited launch and even received backing from some Federal Reserve governors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, according to Marcus, Yellen instructed Powell that approving Libra would amount to \u201cpolitical suicide.\u201d Following this, Powell reportedly ordered regulated banks to cease supporting the initiative, effectively killing the project. Marcus wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThere was no legal or regulatory angle left for the government or regulators to kill the project. It was 100% a political kill\u2014one that was executed through intimidation of captive banking institutions. That was the hardest part of this story for me personally. Not that we had failed, but that America, this country I immigrated to and became a proud citizen of because of its rule of law and value system, behaved in such a way for political reasons. It was a very tough pill to swallow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Crypto Leaders Echo Marcus\u2019s Allegations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prominent figures in the crypto industry have supported Marcus\u2019s claims, accusing the Federal Reserve of targeting crypto projects under \u201cOperation Choke Point 2.0,\u201d which allegedly pressured banks to sever ties with crypto firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini exchange, responded to Marcus\u2019s post, stating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cCan confirm. Gemini worked closely with David and his team at Meta to help launch Libra (fka Diem). We were on the one-yard line when Federal regulators murdered this project. It was all politics, no basis in law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long also affirmed Marcus\u2019s account, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cDavid Marcus, that sounds familiar! Someday, like you just did, I\u2019ll be able to tell the real story of what the Fed did to Custodia Bank, and how the Fed lied to achieve Biden\/Warren political aims. There is so much corruption & I\u2019m glad it\u2019s pouring out in public now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

XRP lawyer John Deaton<\/a> has called for an investigation into \u201cOperation Choke Point 2.0.\u201d He urged the next administration to appoint an independent counsel to lead the inquiry, suggesting Nic Carter as a candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Armstrong Suggests a Strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong echoed concerns about government interference. He noted how figures like Janet Yellen pressured banks to avoid involvement with crypto projects, including Libra. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong highlighted the importance of launching technologies\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/g>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <\/clipPath>\r\n <\/defs><\/svg><\/span><\/a> without seeking pre-approval from regulators, citing Bitcoin as a prime example of permissionless innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce these tools are out in the wild, they can\u2019t be rolled back,\u201d Armstrong argued, adding that decentralization protects against regulatory overreach. He reiterated, \u201ccode is speech,\u201d<\/em> emphasizing its protection under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Libra project\u2019s downfall may lead other crypto firms to disclose similar experiences under Operation Choke Point 2.0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Donald Trump considering appointing a ‘crypto czar' <\/a>at the White House, there could be a shift in regulatory attitudes toward the industry. Whether Facebook\u2019s Diem stablecoin could see a revival remains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss revealed that US Secretary Janet Yellen’s decision to close Facebook Libra was a political witch hunt. David Marcus, the former head of Facebook\u2019s now-defunct Libra stablecoin project, later renamed Diem, disclosed how the Biden administration halted its progress despite meeting all regulatory requirements. In his post titled \u201cHow Libra Was Killed,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":102208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[5773,3860,23161,23162],"class_list":["post-102205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-janet-yellen","tag-david-marcus","tag-facebook-diem","tag-facebook-libra"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/David-Marcus-Political-Pressure-Killed-Facebooks-Libra-Project.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinscreed.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}