- Phillip Hammond has said that politicians should not try to manage the Libra token
- This, he says, is the job of regulators
Since the Libra white paper was released in June 2019, there have been mixed reactions to the upcoming token as US Congress has made moves to stop it from being released and committees have been formed around the globe to look into what implications the token will have for the global financial world.
One lawmaker, however, that does not seem eager to get involved in the matter of the Libra token is the finance minister for the United Kingdom, Philip Hammond, who stated in an interview published July 15, 2019, that regulators should have the final say on how to manage the upcoming stablecoin and not lawmakers.
Not My Responsibility
The interview question was held with CNBC’s Squawk Box in which he stated that the decision on whether Facebook should be required to get a banking license should not be decided by lawmakers as it is an issue for the regulators to look into and not politicians. He has also said that should Libra be properly regulated within the market, it can be extremely beneficial.
“We’re not going to turn our back to it or try to stop it. We’re going to engage with it and try to work with others to ensure that it is effectively regulated,” he said.
He did say, however, that if it is not properly scrutinized, it could pose a risk to the financial system as a good avenue for money laundering and financial terrorism which is a common concern among lawmakers around the globe seeing as the token will not be backed by a Central Bank. Hammond feels that Libra differs from bitcoin because they have contrasting ownership structures in place.
These comments come ahead of a hearing that will be held on July 16, 2019, regarding the Libra crypto product with the banking committee of United States and shows that there is a difference of opinion with regards to Libra and how it should be managed.
It is also interesting to see just how much lawmakers and world leaders are being forced to confront the issue of cryptocurrency as some have been dismissive about it the past but the sheer scale of the upcoming token makes that impossible moving forward.
