Facebook provided a first look at its forthcoming cryptocurrency, Libra, Tuesday. It said the service could be with users as early as 2020. The Guardian posted on a rundown of the announcement.
Libra is being touted as a means to connect people who do not have access to traditional banking platforms. With close to 2.4 billion people using Facebook each month, Libra could be a financial game changer, but will face close scrutiny as Facebook continues to reel from a series of privacy scandals. It could also be a welcome lift to Facebook’s profits: analysts are suggesting Libra could be a huge moneymaker for Facebook, arriving as its growth slows. Technology to make transactions with Libra will be available as a standalone app – as well as on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger platforms – as early as 2020. It will allow consumers to send money to each other as well as potentially pay for goods and services using the Facebook-backed digital currency instead of their local currency.
Check It Out: Libra, Facebook’s Cryptocurrency, Coming 2020
Facebook seems to be turning into a self-correcting problem.
I will give Facebook credit for one thing. While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are backed by nothing, this will be tied to the value of real currencies. Where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are subject to the whims of the market, this will have managers and financial institutions minding the store. Where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are little more than Ponzi schemes, this could become a viable way of transferring money. Mind you I agree with Lee, I trust Facebook less than I trust the Bitcoin scam so I won’t be using it, bit it could have one good impact. It could siphon money out of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and lead to their collapse. I look forward to the day when “cryptocurrency millionaire” means the same as “dot-com millionaire” did a generation earlier. A fool left with a handful of worthless paper.
I trust cryptocurrency less than I trust Facebook and I don’t trust them at all.