The Week in Crypto Policy: Letter to Meta & CVC Mixing

Key Insights

• Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, expressing concern about the company's recent trademark applications that suggest the company is looking to expand into the digital asset space.
• Industry firms and policy groups filed comment letters urging FinCEN to significantly narrow or withdraw a proposed rule imposing new reporting requirements for transactions suspected of involving crypto "mixing."

HFSC Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters Sends Letter to Meta

On Monday, Ranking Member Maxine Waters sent a letter to Meta voicing concerns that the company may be looking to pursue crypto-related projects. The letter cites Meta's recent trademark applications related to "various digital asset services and blockchain technology" as the basis for the letter.

At the heart of Rep. Water's concerns are fears that allowing firms to mix commerce and banking activities may lead to a dangerous concentration of economic power at Big Tech, which, in turn, could lead to user privacy, financial stability, and cybersecurity concerns.

Rep. Waters also suggests Meta's trademark applications contradict recent communications between Meta and Democrat Financial Services Committee staff in which Meta indicated that it was not pursuing any blockchain-based products or stablecoins.