Facebook announces cryptocurrency contender, Libra.
Main points
- Libra is due to launch early 2020
- It will not be run by Facebook (according to Facebook).
- A new subsidiary company will be created, Calibra, enabling users to create digital wallets to buy, store and exchange the cryptocurrency.
- The name Libra originates from the Roman weight measurement. The abbreviation lb for pound comes from Libra, and the £ symbol originally comes from the L in Libra
- Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Libra will be backed by government money.
- Facebook reports that 1.7 billion people around the world do not have bank accounts – really? Do they all have Facebook accounts?
- A bank account will not be necessary to use Libra – Facebook claims to want to reach these people.
- Its objective is to be more accessible, stable and secure. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that suffer speculation and volatility.
- It has received a cautious reception from some central banks.
- Libra has received support from the following companies: VISA, PayPal, Uber, Lyft, eBay, Vodafone and Spotify just to name a few.
- It will be an open-source digital currency.
- The internet has changed so many things in our lives, and not all for the better. Now, how we use and access money could be about to dramatically change too. Just how powerful is Facebook? Digitizing money!
Will it work?
The cryptocurrency announcement comes after Facebook has faced a number of privacy issues, raising serious concerns about whether people will trust the social platform with their financial information. Would you?
And, will Facebook now harvest our personal financial information as it has done all our other data and use it for personal gain? It remains to be seen.
Last thought… an Amazon cryptocurrency too?