Facebook's Libra Just Got Its First Major Supporter in Congress

Amid a sea of scorn, one U.S. Senator is praising Libra.

Sen. Mike Rounds wrote a letter to Libra Association member Anchorage.

Officially signed the charter forming the Libra Association.

Rounds emphasized the potential for Libra to aid unbanked users in his letter, noting that the Federal Reserve "Is itself still years away" from creating its own real-time payments platform.

"Given the length of time it will take for the Fed to finish FedNow., the Libra Association should not wait to see if recent conversations about a Fed-run digital currency come to fruition," he said.

Backlash to Libra within the U.S. "Is particularly puzzling," given the age of the current legal framework around cryptocurrencies, he said.

While the Libra Association and its members should follow the law in developing the project, Rounds said, the pushback is "Not healthy for innovation."

Rounds praised the "Deliberate approach" taken by the Libra Association to date, citing conversations with Congress and U.S. regulators as two examples.

"While the Association is still in the process of standing up its governance framework and its operating rules, it would be a shame to lose the progress you have already made in creating Libra," he said.

Libra aside, Rounds said Congress and U.S. regulators should act to make it easier for cryptocurrency companies to operate within the U.S., saying a number of companies have told him that they find it easier to operate overseas.