Congress requests hiatus on Facebook Libra

Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee has called for Facebook to halt development on its cryptocurrency Libra until Congress has had time to take a look at it, according to a report by BBC. Facebook recently announced plans to launch its cryptocurrency and Calibra wallet in 2020.

"Given the company's troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a crypto-currency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action," Waters said.

Other Congress members expressed concerns about Facebook becoming too powerful.

"We cannot allow Facebook to run a risky cryptocurrency out of a Swiss bank account without oversight," Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator, said in a statement.

"We look forward to responding to policymakers' questions as this process moves forward," a Facebook spokesman said.