WASHINGTON (KELO.com) — While his colleagues were grilling Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg yesterday about his proposed cryptocurrency called “Libra,” Sen. Mike Rounds thinks the concept is good.
Rounds says America needs to be at the forefront.
“Look at where China is at, the entire continent of Africa is at with regard to mobile payments, you find that it is kind of something other countries are skipping to another technology,” Rounds told Yahoo Finance during an appearance yesterday.
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He also says the U.S. Dollar has to be a part of how “Libra” or any other major cryptocurrency is valued.
“If we don’t have the right regulatory environment in the United States, the probability of the dollar being used in that basket becomes a smaller percentage,” Rounds said.
Rounds also has some words for critics of “Libra” and other cryptocurrencies.
“I think it’s a wave that’s here, the rest of the world is way ahead of the United States,” Rounds said. “I’d like to have appropriate regulation that doesn’t stifle it but rather promotes it.”
He says he supports Facebook’s project but adds that the government “shouldn’t pick winners and losers” in the race to develop a worldwide recognized cryptocurrency.
Coinbase.com defines cryptocurrency as:
- Cryptocurrency is digital cash for the digital age. It’s similar to regular money — think $$ or €€ — but it’s digital-only, so there are no bills or coins to carry around.
Rounds serves on the Senate Banking Committee.
