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US lawmaker probing Meta’s involvement with digital assets, blockchain tech

Press Releases Crypto News CryptoSlate US lawmaker probing Meta’s involvement with digital assets, blockchain tech

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, has initiated an investigation into Meta’s involvement with digital assets over financial stability concerns.

Waters wrote a letter to top Meta executives Mark Zuckerberg and Javier Olivan on Jan. 22, highlighting a series of trademark applications that suggest a potential expansion into digital currency and blockchain technology, raising questions about the company’s intentions and activities in this domain.

She has requested clarification on Meta’s intentions regarding web3, digital wallets, and other related projects. These inquiries aim to ascertain the extent of Meta’s ongoing and future involvement in digital assets, including any potential research and development in stablecoin projects or partnerships with other stablecoin issuers.

Waters has long been a critic of the crypto industry and believes that the sector should be subject to the same stringent regulations as banks, especially stablecoin issuers.

Trademark applications

The five trademark applications — filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2022 — cover a wide array of services related to digital assets. The applications encompass a diverse range of services, from online social networking and dating services tailored for investors to downloadable software for digital currency management.

The applications also include provisions for various digital asset activities ranging from financial trades and exchanges of various forms of digital currency to the design and development of blockchain-related computer hardware and software.

The submissions have raised concerns, particularly given Meta’s past ventures into digital currency and the subsequent regulatory and public scrutiny.

Despite these filings, Meta staff asserted in October 2023 that the company is neither conducting nor planning any work on blockchain-based products or stablecoins. However, the statement contradicts the detailed descriptions in Meta’s trademark applications.