The Central Bank of Facebook

[Abiky]

So every crypto-currency exchange is basically just a bank and now Facebook wants to be a bank.

Most banks begin with good reputations but Facebook has a terrible reputation that nobody trusts.

That's certainly true, mate. With many centralized exchanges and stablecoins available right now, Facebook's competition will be fierce. Not to mention, people would trust more a Bank than a controversial social network platform like Facebook. In order to gain people's trust again, a lot of hard work and effort must be done. However, knowing that Libra cryptocurrency will threaten people's privacy, it's hard to believe that FB will be getting any trust at all.

In my opinion, all that Facebook wants is to make more money. Also, it wants to become the standard digital "Fiat" currency of the world. If this happens, then traditional currencies like the USD, RUB, and EUR will be no more as Libra takes the lead. But, we all know that this is very unlikely to happen as Banks and governments worldwide won't allow it. It seems that Facebook will be facing a lot of regulatory pressure once its digital currency is launched.

Despite this, it would be horrible if Facebook gains full support from governments into launching its own digital currency as it'll become a "Bank 2.0" taking custody of people's funds. And since Blockchain technology provides transparency, privacy within transactions will be non-existent allowing Facebook to do as it desires.

Nonetheless, crypto will still do fine as it's decentralized whereas FB's Libra currency is not. Whenever Libra fails or not is yet to be seen. If successful, then it could help spur the adoption of Blockchain technology within the mainstream world. Just my thoughts

[atjiat]

Does it seem to me, or is it really Facebook roasted on the fattest piece of the pie of the entire cryptocurrency market?  Increasingly, I read the news that Libra is a strong competitor for Bitcoin, not to mention all other cryptocurrencies.  And today, Facebook is already aiming at becoming the keeper of all funds for each user of cryptocurrency.

[AjithBtc]

Same as that we get access to our bank account through different wallets here with libra coin similar thing takes place through the blockchain platform. Here more the usage of the libra coin the usage of USD gets lowered which might indirectly affect the economy as banks will be visited only for limited needs. Lot of controversy over this has been going around, let's see what happens after the launch.

[sana54210]

So you are saying it is a trap for the people of the world? More buyers will certainly boost dollars or euros worth is that it? IF it is then it will be a damn failure for sure, people wants decentralized money that is why we are here, we chose to support the one that is called Bitcoin. I think that could be a double edge sword for Facebook, and maybe it will totally drag the app down if this fails.

It is already a NO-NO for Facebook coin with most people, who would see decentralization and chose centralization over it, but I know we still have gullible people that would do so, it is not everyone that understand all these terms and the implications of each of them, we have some people that what they are just after is to make payment irrespective of whatever method it is coming from, and would not care of it is decentralized or centralized, but I guess we have few of people who has that mentality, so there is a chance of Facebook still have people that will lease push it’s coin to fall between the top 100 in the coinmarketcap, maybe it could manage to climb the top 99th position or if it tries it’s possible best, may replace some few stable coins in the market.

[veleten]

So you are saying it is a trap for the people of the world? More buyers will certainly boost dollars or euros worth is that it? IF it is then it will be a damn failure for sure, people wants decentralized money that is why we are here, we chose to support the one that is called Bitcoin. I think that could be a double edge sword for Facebook, and maybe it will totally drag the app down if this fails.

It is already a NO-NO for Facebook coin with most people, who would see decentralization and chose centralization over it, but I know we still have gullible people that would do so, it is not everyone that understand all these terms and the implications of each of them, we have some people that what they are just after is to make payment irrespective of whatever method it is coming from, and would not care of it is decentralized or centralized, but I guess we have few of people who has that mentality, so there is a chance of Facebook still have people that will lease push it’s coin to fall between the top 100 in the coinmarketcap, maybe it could manage to climb the top 99th position or if it tries it’s possible best, may replace some few stable coins in the market.

I know for sure that I will never touch this coin with a six feet pole
I am also sure that there will be plenty of people using it so my hope that the conglomerate fails to get approval from the EU and US financial institutions
and without those two , the idea is bound to fail , but something is telling me that Facebook will beg steal and borrow but push their coin through

[bitgolden]

@BobK71
Why worry about FB coin? Most countries won't allow this coin. Some countries have already started to be clear saying FB won't be able to issue coins here. The minority who will be using this currency will be from tier 3 countries, I bet you won't see it in westerner countries.
Also it's easy to block FB currency since there is a company behind, while because it's not possible.

As Libracoins are backed through western Gov Bonds too, Govs will be more than happy to help Libra.
They have found a big new source to finance their debt.
Sometime politician's opposition is put up just in order to save face, in which case it is just fake opposition.

Facebook might be the reason why governments will really built enmity around cryptocurrency more, I heard that the coin Facebook is planning to introduce is a decentralized one as against centralized coins we all thought that it would be, and would be targeting about 1.7 billion users which may render the system of banks completely irrelevance.

Government generally know what Facebook is , and they know how powerful the owner is financially, whatever cryptocurrency product he is creating may really not be in favor of government and the best any government can do is to start creating policies that will ban cryptocurrency. I just hope that Facebook coin will not do more damage to cryptocurrency than the benefit we think it will bring.

[mirawantirinjana]

If indeed Libra is a stable crypto currency then this is indeed a safe thing for Libra in the exchange of crypto currencies, so if Facebook aims to create a central bank of the currency then I think it will work.

[Barbut]

If indeed Libra is a stable crypto currency then this is indeed a safe thing for Libra in the exchange of crypto currencies, so if Facebook aims to create a central bank of the currency then I think it will work.

It will work for sure, but will you use it? We are trying to run away from the broken banking system, at least most of us want changes, what`s the point in creating the central crypto bank? For me, the choice is in front of us is simple, we can choose to continue with the centralized system in crypto form, or to pursue decentralization. I made my choice a long time ago, and I`m one of the people that will not use Libra coin, I`m sure in that.

[Spaffin]

It seems to me that in the cryptocurrency market there have always been very good and promising projects, but nevertheless, they are still Irina of the developmental stage, or no one else is thinking of introducing everyday human life.  Development has remained at the development stage.  I think that we will judge about the Libra Project only by the results. And now this is only an assumption.

[LeGaulois]

facebook might be the reason why governments will really built enmity around cryptocurrency more, I heard that the coin Facebook is planning to introduce is a decentralized one as against centralized coins we all thought that it would be, and would be targeting about 1.7 billion users which may render the system of banks completely irrelevance.

Government generally know what Facebook is , and they know how powerful the owner is financially, whatever cryptocurrency product he is creating may really not be in favor of government and the best any government can do is to start creating policies that will ban cryptocurrency. I just hope that Facebook coin will not do more damage to cryptocurrency than the benefit we think it will bring.

Where did you hear Facebook's coin will be decentralized? Is it even true? If Facebook controls the coin it's not. It's just distributing the power/control to something else (here an enterprise (FB) instead of a government). This coin will be just a centralized (digital) currency, nothing more. I don't even understand why do you use the term 'cryptocurrency' to describe it. It's not a cryptocurrency at all.

There is no need to ban cryptos, and it would be inefficient and they perfectly understood it. That's why, as for example, the head of IMF wanted to be able to track everything in the EU. After they got it that they can't, they switched their politic to "cryptos must be regulated" and this is what countries are doing since, with new local regulations, G20 dinners (only to become fat!), harassing exchanges in their business, etc...

[STT]

If indeed Libra is a stable crypto currency

The funny thing might be that Libra is more stable for many parts of the world, as it will be a balanced basket of international currencies.   Where as most prices are based off something backed by US dollar which of course is subject to the continually revolving 4 year cycle of politics and promises to spend more on fiscal budgets then can be repaid, hence the value is continually dropping in real terms.
    If people held Libra instead for even quite small amounts of (regular) spending for digital commerce it could be very influential on the scale of billions of people who use Facebook.   I would like to see a shake up, some surprise and change occurring to what is a biased frankly broken 1 currency global reserve system we are all leaning on right now.

[Reid]

Deserves some merit guys.  

It aint just a story, fiction or an imaginary thing.
It is the real deal. He just saw it.
I just hope many does and be reached by this statement. Mostly it will be newbies of crypto currencies which be the victim of the act of Mark the Libra. But to those who have been in this forum and had opened eyes, it will be nothing more than another online version of USD.

We have to reach out some people whatever possible act we can have. Just so to give them a warning.
Let them see the real light.

[Twinkledoe]

Deserves some merit guys. 

It aint just a story, fiction or an imaginary thing.
It is the real deal. He just saw it.
I just hope many does and be reached by this statement. Mostly it will be newbies of crypto currencies which be the victim of the act of Mark the Libra. But to those who have been in this forum and had opened eyes, it will be nothing more than another online version of USD.

We have to reach out some people whatever possible act we can have. Just so to give them a warning.
Let them see the real light.

People here understand what's going on but they are targeting massive adoption of their "cryptocurrency" via their FB platform. And most of the people that are currently using FB have no idea the real deal behind it. But the exposure of this project can be done easily now because of the social media channels. People need to be informed of this coming libra coin and what it will do to their lives. It needs to be exposed in the public eye.

[galestorm]

I'm not that familiar with Libra and how it would be operated so i really find this topic helpful. I'm rather curious as to what kind of businesses will compose of the facebook consortium that you speak of. I know that there are some who will test out libra when it is officially released, but really it is not that different from fiat money, the only thing that distinguishes both of them from one another is how it would circulate. It is true that librs is not a cryptocurrency but rather a digital currency that will be administrated by facebook. There are a number of benefits when it comes to using libra as it would be regulated and governed by a single entity, transactions will be fast and simple.

[Coin-1]

Social networks compete with each other, so I suppose that in the future we will see the "central bank" of Twitter or another popular platform that is widely used by people from all over the world. I recently heard that U.S. lawmakers urge Zuckerberg to cease developing Libracoin until they scrutinize this new issue and decide how to regulate such a centralized "crypto currency" that is based on a platform which is visited daily by millions of potential customers. Undoubtedly, governments do not want to lose control over payment systems.

[ck343]

@BobK71
Why worry about FB coin? Most countries won't allow this coin. Some countries have already started to be clear saying FB won't be able to issue coins here. The minority who will be using this currency will be from tier 3 countries, I bet you won't see it in westerner countries.
Also it's easy to block FB currency since there is a company behind, while because it's not possible.

As Libracoins are backed through western Gov Bonds too, Govs will be more than happy to help Libra.
They have found a big new source to finance their debt.
Sometime politician's opposition is put up just in order to save face, in which case it is just fake opposition.

Do you prefer to trust a company or a government with your money?

That's not the point Gaulois.
The question was, will Govs block Libra or not.
You say yes, I say no, and explained why

It doesn't work like that where a FB is bought for $1, it's not going to reduce countries debt. Otherwise, it would have been done a decade ago.

As per Whitepaper, Libracoins will be backed by the major currencies and by gov bonds of countries "known for their financial stability".
Let's say, 1 Libracoin = 1$
It works like this:

Gaulois buys 1LC for $1 --> Libra's management buys $1 of currencies and Gov bonds --> 1 LC get issued to Gaulois.
Will Libra's management buy 0,5 $ and 0,5 Treasuries?
0,3 €, 0,3 $, 0,3 German bonds, and 0,1 Treasuries?
0,2 Yen, 0,2 Japanese bonds, 0,4 French bonds, 0,2 Euros?
Libra's management will decide.

Point is, with your $1 they will buy a basket composed of currencies and Gov bonds.
With a portion of your $1 they will finance some Govs.

The countries debt doesn't get reduced, it get financed.

It wasn't done a decade ago because a project like Libra didn't exist a decade ago.

Most EU countries, for example, are hunting FB because the company abuses the EU.

Most EU countries are hunting FB because they don't get any money out of it.
Up until now, FB taxes --> USA.

Did you think EU Govs care about the rights of their citizens?

Do you think EU countries will let FB coin issued in the EU?

Yes, as long as they will get assured that Libra will finance them in a substantial way.

[Jating]

Social networks compete with each other, so I suppose that in the future we will see the "central bank" of Twitter or another popular platform that is widely used by people from all over the world. I recently heard that U.S. lawmakers urge Zuckerberg to cease developing Libracoin until they scrutinize this new issue and decide how to regulate such a centralized "crypto currency" that is based on a platform which is visited daily by millions of potential customers. Undoubtedly, governments do not want to lose control over payment systems.

Right, US lawmakers are really very giving Zuckerberg a hard time because they are afraid or at least wanted to scrutinise what this Libra will offer to the public. But I don't think there will be central bank of Twitter or other social media giant. Facebook is very different though and I don't think that other social media will follow that path. They supposed to be a platform only, and not design to compete with the current centralised payment systems.

[Nellayar]

It is a stable coin with a consortium of big companies as the validator. If Libra reserves genuinely backed by a 1:1 ratio, then I don't see any serious problem. However, If they use the fractional reserve, I'm afraid inflation will speed up rapidly and take down the global economy (assumed Libra would become mainstream). Perhaps this situation is good for Bitcoin. People will realize that Bitcoin is the only non-debased currency.

Do you think US government will just watch Libra coin taking down USD while inflation killing it?

Though really, there's some investors that switching their investment and getting ready to invest on it and leaving some alts dumped.

If their crypto is going to be reserved by dollars, euros etc. then this is the definition of Libra notion.

I hope they can prove it that they're really backed by it or it will be just another issue tho.

Of course not! USA will not probably let libra ruin the usd. Specially, that Trump is a businessman. He has something to do in regards with USA`s economy. He will never let a free enterprise destroy the usd in just a few time. Looks like libra is a threat in all forms of currency. I don`t know if they are really threatened by Libra. I guess that libra will just be a hyped. It may die soon or become stable once it suffers in inconvenience. Just like all coins that drop in the market.

[Abiky]

It is already a NO-NO for Facebook coin with most people, who would see decentralization and chose centralization over it, but I know we still have gullible people that would do so, it is not everyone that understand all these terms and the implications of each of them, we have some people that what they are just after is to make payment irrespective of whatever method it is coming from, and would not care of it is decentralized or centralized, but I guess we have few of people who has that mentality, so there is a chance of Facebook still have people that will lease push it’s coin to fall between the top 100 in the coinmarketcap, maybe it could manage to climb the top 99th position or if it tries it’s possible best, may replace some few stable coins in the market.

That's certainly true, mate. Most people don't seem to care about decentralization these days. All they care about is how to make money with cryptocurrency. As such, every crypto project which claims to be the next big thing would gather the attention of mainstream people. Facebook's Libra coin may be centralized, but most people are only looking its future prospects and how they could make money with it. Of course, the social network giant has undergone a bad reputation because of its privacy violations among its users.

But, I believe that many people will join Libra despite these facts. Comparing Libra against other established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it doesn't stand a chance. It all comes down to whenever Libra could remain sustainable and censorship-resistant for the foreseeable future. Right now, many governments are questioning the implications of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, which makes it hard to believe that it'll survive in the long run. Governments and central banks will become Facebook's biggest threat, as they prevent Libra from becoming a widely-used cryptocurrency within the mainstream world.

Nonetheless, if Libra becomes a success, then Facebook would become the world's next-generation central bank. Which means, that they'll gain control over the economy like never before tracking its users every step of the way. In effect, there will be no privacy and governments could easily restrict/approve people's transactions at will. Hence, everything will become worst than existent credit cards and physical Fiat currency. Just my thoughts

[Prospector_John]

What exactly is the use-value of Libra supposed to be anyway?? Just a "borderless" currency?