WATCH: A FinTech Lawyer Breaks Down Libra's Legality

Joel Telpner, chair of the Fintech and Blockchain Practice Group at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, sees Libra's creation as setting a fascinating - and treacherous - precedent.

AccessTimeIconJul 18, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 11:12 a.m. UTC
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to1yzowaVJE

Joel Telpner, Chair of Fintech and Blockchain Practice Group at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, isn't surprised that Facebook is getting a grilling on Capitol Hill. In fact, he's pleased.

"These are attacks on Facebook itself that really has nothing to do with crypto has nothing to with Libra it's just Facebook being bad boys you know [they're] concerned about [their] privacy policies," he said.

His point, quite simply, is that any scrutiny of crypto in DC is vital.

"Parts of the hearing so far where they've actually been able to get into conversations about Libra and about crypto have been interesting because on that side of it you've seen some Senators that have been skeptical," he said. "But overall it's kind of it's been encouraging to hear some of the senators talking about 'Hey, this is a good thing.'"

Telpner joined CoinDesk editor Pete Rizzo in a wide-ranging conversation about the legality of Libra and, in the end, what Facebook and the Government will have to do to come to terms with the future of crypto.

You can read our complete Libra coverage here and watch our CoinDesk LIVE interviews here.

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Telpner image via The Tokenist

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