Trump expands his opinion on cryptocurrencies taking a jab at Libra

After more than two years of silence on cryptocurrencies, U.S. President Donald Trump has finally shared his thoughts on the burgeoning new industry. And while his comments were nothing unexpected, the very fact he spoke about digital assets was seen as a clear sign that the industry is maturing.

In a series of tweets posted on July 12, Trump said that he was neither a fan of Bitcoin nor of Facebook's "virtual currency," which he believes will have very little “standing or dependability.” His knowledge of the matter seems very limited, though, as he implied that the only way Facebook could issue Libra is to become a bank.

Trump explained that if Facebook, or any other company for that matter, want to issue cryptocurrencies and become banks, they would have to be subjected to banking regulations both in the U.S. and globally.

Facebook is up for a tough summer

While it's hard to say what the Trump administration was hoping to achieve with these comments, it certainly didn't deter anyone from investing in cryptocurrencies. They were posted following a social media summit held at the White House, where Trump criticized tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google for their bias against political conservatism.

And while it's unclear whether the topic of cryptocurrencies was discussed, it's safe to assume that Facebook was most likely mentioned. Many Reddit users even speculated that the tone of the tweet implied that the government was gearing up to push more regulation into the space.

Trump's comments come less than 24 hours after the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jay Powell warned Congress about Libra. Powell said that Libra had "serious concerns" over privacy, consumer protection, financial stability, and money laundering to resolve before it launches.

Facebook is preparing for two separate hearings at the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee next week, and Trump's comments might push the committees' sentiment even further against Libra. With the G7 meeting just over a month away, where the topic of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will be discussed, a sudden drop in support will only spell trouble for Facebook.