Meta’s
(formerly
Facebook)
continued
efforts
in
the
digital
assets
industries
are
being
called
out
by
Rep.
Maxine
Waters
(D-Calif.).
The
congresswoman
said
in
a
letter
sent
Monday
to
CEO
Mark
Zuckerberg
and
Chief
Operating
Officer
Javier
Olivan
that
she
is
concerned
about
Meta’s
ongoing
efforts
to
expand
its
footprint
into
the
cryptocurrency
industry
as
it
currently
has
five
active
trademark
applications
with
the
U.S.
Patent
and
Trademark
Office
(USPTO).
“I
write
to
express
my
concerns
regarding
Meta
Platforms,
Inc.’s
(f/k/a
Facebook,
Inc.)
filing
status
of
five
trademark
applications
related
to
various
digital
assets
services
and
blockchain
technology
with
the
U.S.
Patent
and
Trademark
Office
(USPTO),”
the
letter
said.
“With
its
initial
filings
on
March
18,
2022,
Meta’s
application
submissions
as
of
January
22
appear
to
represent
a
continued
intention
to
expand
the
company’s
involvement
in
the
digital
assets
ecosystem.”
The
letter
points
out
five
patents
by
Meta
that
include
several
applications
related
to
the
digital
assets
sector,
including
social
media
networking,
dating
services,
trading
and
validating
of
cryptocurrencies,
among
others.
The
letter
pointed
out
that
despite
these
five
applications
still
being
active,
Meta
told
the
Financial
Services
Committee
on
Oct.
12
that
the
company
has
no
digital
assets-related
works
ongoing
at
the
company.
This
isn’t
the
first
time
Waters
has
raised
concerns
about
Big
Tech
companies
jumping
into
the
digital
assets
sector.
Last
year,
she
questioned
PayPal
about
its
own
stablecoin,
citing
that
“there
is
still
no
federal
framework
for
regulation,
oversight,
and
enforcement
of
these
assets
stablecoins.”
Meta
previously
attempted
to
launch
its
own
digital
currency
project
in
2019,
which
was
later
named
Diem.
The
project
eventually
was
shut
down
and
sold
to
now-defunct
Silvergate
Bank
in
2022,
after
facing
backlash
from
Washington
and
regulators
worldwide
due
to
Meta’s
access
to
billions
of
users’
personal
data.