Senators pressure Visa and Mastercard over work on Facebook’s blockchain project

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Lawmakers have begun actively pressuring members of the Libra Association, the international blockchain payments project led by Facebook, to reconsider their involvement with the group. In a new letter sent to the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) warn of enormous risks inherent in the Libra project, including facilitating criminal and terrorist financing and destabilizing the global financial system. The letter also suggests the companies would face increased oversight from financial regulators in their conventional, non-blockchain businesses if they continue with the association. “This journey to build a generational payment network like the Libra project is not an easy path.” “... Continue reading…