Facebook announced a crypto and regulators are as slammed as a mouse in cat territory. It’s not too surprising that offcials in the US and outside the US have some questions once you consider the history of FB.
In the United States, Maxine Waters a congresswoman has sounded the alarm on Facebook’s activity and was cautious about just how much reach and influence the technology company could end up having:
With the announcement that it plans to create a cryptocurrency, Facebook is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users.
Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action.
Maxine Waters
Once you take into consideration that Facebook has been guilty of neglecting user privacy and been embroiled in one scandal after the other for the better part of three years, it’s understandable that people in government would want to understand how Libra works before giving Facebook a pass and allowing them to proceed. Facebook hasn’t done much to protect the public and owning a currency isn’t proof that they’ll suddenly change their approach and protect the interests of the people who have the currency.
In Europe the scepticism is also present, with French Finance minister saying that Facebook’s crypto should not be the only currency. Bloomberg reports the statement as follows:
“It is out of question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ Le Maire said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. “It can’t and it must not happen.”
Bloomberg
Whilst crypto enthusiasts will not be too excited at the prospect of this ban as Facebook might have a greater chance of pushing cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, the truth is that Facebook hasn’t done it’s best with the influence it already has and thus politicians and regulators will no doubt scrutinize Libra with a lot of scepticism. Maybe that is what is necessary for the protection of the billions who might have access to this currency if it is as ubiquitous as Facebook wishes…
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5 comments
Kindly advise how one can purchase Libra coins
They are not available yet
I think Libra is a way of moving cryptocurrency and block chain to another level.Libra is the future, considering the size and influence of facebook and the partners.However, for the currency to take off, it needs the backing of the regulatory authorities and reserve currency which will be difficult because politicians have always been wary of Facebook.But I think once it establishes, it is going to grow by leaps and bounds and I am sure the early investors will reap big later.
I am sure there will be a stage where it would no longer need the backing of reserve currencies but the reputation and value of companies backing it will be enough.
The part you mention investors caught my interest. You think Libra will be similar to Bitcoin and will be volatile to the point of being something you buy and sell later on?
Libra will not be volatile, at least according to the white paper as it will be backed by real assets like USD and EURO. In the short term I think it will be controlled to be stable so that it does not create market upheavals like what the bit coin did. However, as it gains more backers, I think its value will go up, more like how shares from companies like Apple, Google and Facebook have gained value in the past 10 years. For a short term quick return investment, I don’t think Libra is ideal, but for the long term i.e to 5 to 10 years, I think the value will increase five to ten fold.
The people who will cash are the early investors who would have ordinarily bought it cheaply and cash later at maybe 10 times more.
I think it will be also be a good store of value especially for us Africans who have trouble in opening and maintaining USD accounts in unreliable banks.