Libra

There are subtle differences in Walmart's virtual currency project compared to Facebook's Libra, but these may be enough to avoid the regulatory firing squad that Facebook has endured.

The panel has had 13 public meetings since the Massachusetts senator’s last appearance, in May.

David Marcus spent more than 15 years climbing the ranks in the mobile sector before becoming PayPal’s president and then moving onto Facebook, where he now leads the blockchain team that launched the controversial Libra cryptocurrency project.

Walmart has filed a patent application for a digital currency that, like Facebook's Libra, would be a stablecoin backed by traditional currencies. And it envisions a very specific use case where its coin could stand in for cash — or even for a bank account.

Facebook must have expected some backlash when unveiling its plans for Libra. But it may have underestimated just how much.

Two weeks after lawmakers grilled a Facebook exec over its crypto plans, they acknowledged there are benefits from digital currency technology and urged U.S. companies to take the lead.

Gone are the Wild West days of Facebook, when the company could do whatever it wanted with little worry of regulatory or earnings repercussions. And as the social network embarks on its Libra currency project, its toughest days loom ahead.

Libra and Facebook’s huge impact on the conversation around blockchain and cryptocurrency is giving fuel to other blockchain companies that portray their models as alternatives to Facebook’s controversial plans.

Firm will pay $700 million to settle issues stemming from data breach; don’t expect JPM CFO Jennifer Piepszak, or anyone else, to be named heir apparent.

Lawmakers from both parties strongly criticized Libra this week, but largely steered clear of proposals to stop it.