Facebook is conducting talks with the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission, according to the Financial Times.
The commission is reportedly seeking to understand whether Facebook’s upcoming stablecoin, dubbed “GlobalCoin,” will fall under its regulatory remit, which includes derivatives and futures. That decision, apparently, boils down to whether trading of the upcoming “GlobalCoin” will be handled by cash or futures-based exchanges.
CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo told the FT that he also wants to understand the stablecoin “better,” but can’t make a judgment until he sees the completed application in front of him. Nevertheless, he still managed to describe the technology underpinning it as “very clever.”
“GlobalCoin” is Facebook’s second attempt at a native payment rail, and will be rolling out across a dozen countries later this year, according to a report by the BBC last month. Led by former PayPal CEO David Marcus, the project is reportedly working closely with regulators and crypto exchanges, including Gemini, which is run by erstwhile Zuckerberg business partners the Winklevoss twins, who co-invented Facebook.
The CFTC, for its part, has embraced cryptocurrencies more than any other regulator. It is the steward of Labs CFTC, a government-funded incubator for blockchain startups, which has been lauded for its transparency—earning Giancarlo the moniker “Crypto Dad”—and has helped foster a generally positive attitude toward the technology among the agency’s top dogs.
