Facebook consults CFTC about GlobalCoin

According to the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the regulator is in “very early stages of conversations” with Facebook about its upcoming stablecoin, the Financial Times writes.

At this stage, head commissioner Christopher Giancarlo says they are trying to establish whether Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency would fall under the CFTC's jurisdiction, which governs over futures and derivatives. The decision will depend on whether the stablecoin's trading is done via futures or cash-based markets.

Giancarlo reiterated the CFTC didn't have an application "in front" of them yet, and could only act once that was ready.

The talks with the CFTC are the latest in Facebook's outreach to various regulators about its GlobalCoin. Beyond regulatory oversight, another important issue is compliance with money-laundering and “know your customer” regulations.