Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra behind standoff over Zuckerberg testimony in Congress

House lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Facebook in an attempt to force chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to testify in the coming months about his company’s plans to launch the Libra cryptocurrency.

Initially, Facebook agreed to dispatch Zuckerberg’s second in command, Sheryl Sandberg, to testify at a possible Oct. 29 hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, where lawmakers led by Rep. Maxine Waters have expressed deep reservations about Libra and its effects on the global financial system, according to a source familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it on record.

But lawmakers have said that hearing isn’t going happen unless Zuckerberg also agrees to appear before the committee by January, the source said, which Facebook has not agreed to do.