Donald Trump: If Facebook wants to become a bank, they must be subjected to all banking regulations

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his views on cryptocurrencies, saying that not only was he "Not a fan" of Bitcoin, he also believes Facebook's Libra will have little standing or dependability when launched.

He said that Facebook should be subjected to banking regulations both in the U.S. and globally.

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 limited 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.

If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations, just like other Banks, both National.

Starting a bank in U.S. is a regulatory hurdle which the tech giant was looking to bypass by merely offering a digital currency backed by USD. All banks, before commencing operations in the U.S., must get approval by the federal or state government via charter.

The cumbersome process of starting a bank takes minimum one year, according to the Federal Reserve.

New banks must have a solid team and sufficient funds to support themselves in case of losses and will be subjected to additional regulations while they're still young.

Different countries have different banking regulations and operating an international bank will be a tough task for Facebook as it will have to abide by a plethora of various regulations.

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.