Does Libra still pose a threat to Bitcoin?

[Daniel91]

Croatian bitcoin portal published a very interesting thinking by academics and economist John Vraz on this topic.
Source: https://crobitcoin.com/predstavlja-li-libra-i-dalje-prijetnju-bitcoinu/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=news
Vraz believes that LIbra will become a very serious competitor to bitcoin.
He believes bitcoin has problems as a means of payment and that bitcoin is disproportionately used as a speculative instrument.
in contrast, Libra was built with the intention of scaling as a payment net.
Vraz: ''The differentiation of the assets on which libre stability is based is a key factor for the performance of the currency''.
FB has a large user base and therefore a large initial range.
Vraz: ''Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies threaten to undermine banks' control over cash supply. This deprives them of the ability to create imaginary leverage in the economy, because in assets like Bitcoin, money cannot be created without cover''.

"Banks can borrow "same" money up to maybe eight or nine times in the partial reserve banking system. Thus, a lot of banks are creating a massive offer of money in the system of fractional reserves. With Bitcoin, you can't borrowing what you don't have.

Very interesting thoughts from Mr. Vraz. What do you think of his ideas?
Do you think Libra will be a serious threat and competition for bitcoin?

[1714833329]

1714833329

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't heard much about Libra for months, and I was wondering if the project had quietly been canceled--but I also figured I'd have seen some discussion here about that if it were the case.

Anyway, no; I don't think Libra would be a threat to bitcoin, nor do I even think they'd be competing for the same user base necessarily.  Most people who own bitcoin nowadays don't use it as a currency, but rather as an investment.  And since Libra is supposed to be a stablecoin, there would be no reason for anyone to own it as an investment.  They'd be using it as a currency for whatever Facebook intended them to use it for. 

I haven't searched the internet about Libra lately.  Has there been any news or developments?

[gentlemand]

Libra will never exist in the form they're proposing. No government would let third parties with user bases of billions blow their own currencies apart. If it ever does emerge it'll be a watered down bitch that does their bidding.

If it ever did emerge in the form originally proposed it wouldn't be a threat to BTC. It is just as vulnerable to the weaknesses of fiat currencies as its value is derived from them, but it's vulnerable to more of them.

[BIT-BENDER]

I have read only little about Libra coin to know enough about it does hold a challenge to Bitcoin.
If it's about publicity Libra would get it, with its link with Facebook knowing Libra wouldn't be hard. But Bitcoin and Libra has different path way non the less they are cryptocurrency

[Wenbing]

Do you think Libra will be a serious threat and competition for bitcoin?

This is the statistics from Statista

Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass 1 billion registered accounts and currently sits at almost 2.45 billion monthly active users

If Facebook has 2.45bn userbase and their data it'll become easy for them to be the early adoptor of Libra. We, know when demand for Libra increases it'll increase its brand and its value.

[tomahawk9]

Is that a serious question? Bitcoin is:


(source)

Libra is...Well, the opposite

Wasn't Libra supposed to compete against the big banks and whatnot?

[Twentyonepaylots]

I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't heard much about Libra for months, and I was wondering if the project had quietly been canceled--but I also figured I'd have seen some discussion here about that if it were the case.

I was very positive with Libra back in a few months but now they're like scared dogs not trying to sound a little long now. I don't see it being cancel at any reason.

Anyway, no; I don't think Libra would be a threat to bitcoin, nor do I even think they'd be competing for the same user base necessarily.  Most people who own bitcoin nowadays don't use it as a currency, but rather as an investment.  And since Libra is supposed to be a stablecoin, there would be no reason for anyone to own it as an investment.  They'd be using it as a currency for whatever Facebook intended them to use it for. 

I haven't searched the internet about Libra lately.  Has there been any news or developments?

It does not contain any threat at all, not any new born altcoins will be able to possess threat against bitcoin. If there is  a coin that has a potential to compete with bitcoin that would be Ethereum, coz ethereum is used for making dapps, so maybe in the future we are going to experience more ethereum based platforms like digital payments. Or Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, or Bitcoin cash who knows these coins are pretty exciting lately this month.

[Mpamaegbu]

Well, to your question in the title — No, Libra is in no way a threat to Bitcoin. In fact, the only thing that even gave Libra the shine it had was the figure behind it - The Mark Zukerberg factor. Beyond that, Libra is just like any other altcoin. It may even end a worthless coin if care isn't taken. I know many people quickly keyed into the project, thinking it will be an instant hit because of Zukerberg's involvement. But they soon forget that WhatsApp hasn't faired any better than Telegram since Zukerberg took over it. My point is this: Libra may end up an average project if it finally gets back its footing.

[avikz]

Lol! Let it get introduced to the market first - then we will think about the competition!

Libra has no qualities to qualify as a crypto part from its blockchain usage. It is similar to the CBDCs but only the issuer is not a bank! So Libra and Bitcoin doesn't belong to the same league only!

[dothebeats]

Tbh this is the only time I have heard of that name once more, apart from seeing it on daily horoscopes posted on several social media sites. Facebook and Libra has since quieted down once we entered 2020, and there doesn't seem to be important developments with what it offers either. Libra didn't even pose a solid threat to bitcoin either since its beginning, so the question is somewhat irrelevant IMO. If traditional companies turned down their support to Libra after receiving flak amongst the community and the masses, why would it even pose a single threat to a cryptocurrency that received numerous bashing yet stays on top of them all?

[pixie85]

Libra was never a threat. It was a threat to other stable coins like usdt. Is usdt a threat to Bitcoin?

I also think that Libra will not come to life. They probably wrapped up after that innitial set of hearings. They have enough money to get off the book statements from commisioners and such and i'm sure they were told there will be no green light this time.

[Lanatsa]

The question is, would they able to pull it through? We've known that this one does still have lots of works to be done and there are lots of opposition for this project to be launched.

Didnt expect that this one still have some talks and asking if this one pose a threat? the answer is "NO" ..

[Becky666]

Well well well, basically I can't see a threat from Libra because Bitcoin and Libra are very different from each other when it come to threatening. Bitcoin has been in existence and Libra just came into the board of cryptocurrency,  so,  comparing the two doesn't make any sense as decentralized and centralized are different protocols. Bitcoin is an investment mode by investors and stablecoins are likely to be use as currency and not an investment. People, probably investors won't have much time with Libra.

[nelson4lov]

I thought we already established last year that libra was in no way a threat or competition to Bitcoin? Libra is speculated to be a highly performant project. While this might be true (we're yet to confirm as it hasn't been launched), Libra would've to get adopted. It'll possibly take some years for the project to get a spot in the crypto space. Also, Libra os a stable coin. So it posses little to no risks to Bitcoin. The nearest competitor, at best, are other stable coins like USDT, USDC etc. Currently, there are projects with high performance blockchains with and high throughout. Yet, Bitcoinis still on top of the food chain.

[CaVO32]

The question is, would they able to pull it through? We've known that this one does still have lots of works to be done and there are lots of opposition for this project to be launched.

Didnt expect that this one still have some talks and asking if this one pose a threat? the answer is "NO" ..

they are still pushing thru the Libra project and now they released a revised whitepaper. so they will be creating various stable coins this time not the original plan of creating a global digital currency. this move clearly shows that they are totally different with bitcoin. if they are based in certain fiat currencies, then their value depends also on the fiat where they are based of and that means the price is relatively stable. It is the same as you are using your own fiat currency but this time, in digital form. so no threat to bitcoin as they are totally different in nature.

https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/coins/facebook-libra-updates-white-paper-to-woo-reluctant-regulators/

[princerepon]

It's been a while i heard about libra. Well personally i don't think libra is a threat to bitcoin. There are many points for that and the biggest point is "Decentralization". People will not get over on bitcoin because of some centralized platform doesn't matter how much customer have libra. May be it'll be another XRP not more than that (in my opinion).

[Kemarit]

They can't even take off because of so many regulatory bodies opposing Facebook's Libra, then how can we say it will be a threat to Bitcoin? Remember that they are supposedly a payment system, however, a payment system built or at least patnered with a another gateway, i.e. Visa, banks etc. So it really defeat the purpose of what crypto enthusiast wanted, a borderless, permissionless, decentralized system. If Libra will push through, most likely their competition will be XRP.

[finaleshot2016]

IMO, even the mainstream news is not talking about Libra, it is not a threat to bitcoin.

I think Facebook libra is just giving more mainstream coverage to bitcoin, meaning, people will still look around and will discover the bitcoin, the opposite of Libra.

I've just read something that Libra has a collaboration with Dapper Labs, the one that created CryptoKitties and Flow Blockchain. Not only on Dapper Labs, they already have connections multi-millionaire company so definitely it will give a good and popular name on the public. Their partnership will make Libra as a major competitor on all assets.

[Sadlife]

John vraz has no clue what Bitcoin really is, in terms of scalability Bitcoin can adopt through any scenario and can be modified through consensus because it has open source code and it doesn't have central authority to control it with no inflation as what Fiat currencies are through printing money out of nothing. This is what Bitcoin true value compared to other assets.

[tsaroz]

Libra never posed a threat to bitcoin. Even the leading person for the Calibra project, David Marcus clearly stated that on his tweets to clear the confusion. Libra was supposed to be a global currency for the facebook platform oriented around advertising. Bitcoin on the other hand does not compete with Libra on that.

[meanwords]

I just don't get it. It was clear that Bitcoin and Libra have different use and purpose and this people just keeps comparing Bitcoin and Libra. Also, why is his arguments about banks? are they going to use Libra for banking and leverage purposes? If that's what they want, I'd still rather stick with Bitcoin than that another centralized shitcoin who thinks his better than the king.

[Shasha80]

I think libra is not a threat to bitcoin, because libra is a stablecoins and different from bitcoin. When compared as payment indeed libra
is better than bitcoin, even libra can be more popular than bitcoin. Because of the fact stablecoins are more popular. Although libra is
more popular and better in terms of payment, it doesn't mean that bitcoin can be defeated by libra. The proof is bitcoin from a decade
always dominates the market. Because bitcoin can make money, and can also be a source of income. Even bitcoin can make us rich.

[n0ne]

As in the article the usage of Libra might increase in a very short time period, but the same doesn't mean bitcoin usage will be overcome by Libra. Bitcoin isn't an speculative instrument, it is speculative by the way it functions. With the launch of Libra surely our financial needs will also be given into the hands of a centralized authority. When it comes to finance people expect security and independent usability. Bitcoin provides it, and this makes bitcoin successful than Libra.

[bgaf]

Libra never posed a threat to bitcoin. Even the leading person for the Calibra project, David Marcus clearly stated that on his tweets to clear the confusion. Libra was supposed to be a global currency for the facebook platform oriented around advertising. Bitcoin on the other hand does not compete with Libra on that.

This is right. In fact, bitcoin is a decentralized system,  while Libra is totally made for centralized governance and focuses on facebook and their affiliated and group of companies under their umbrella.

Its been a while hearing news again on Libra, this project will never be a competition to bitcoin, not even considered a competitor to altcoin top most project ethereum.
 

[salamat700]

I don't understand why there are still "experts" who are thinking that they possess the depository of knowledge and wisdom as to Libra and Bitcoin. While certainly, there is a big possibility that Libra can soon be emerging as a very competitive payment cryptocurrency the whole can use, we have to remember that this is just a potential and that it is not going to be an easy ride for any so-called payment platform to win the global market. We have to remember that the brand behind Libra is suffering from reputation problem. In addition, Libra is centralized and under the full control of a group of entities, something which Bitcoin is not. I have no problem with Libra and yes one day I can also be using it but it does not mean that I am leaving and will not anymore be supporting Bitcoin. The whole marketplace is quite big and we should allow open competition...whoever wins in the end is beyond me to predict.

[maxreish]

Until now Libra is still facing so many issues, I wonder if they will continue this project or not. I think it will not gonna launched (well, not yet), let's wait for their official announcement if they will gonna procceed Libra or not. But on the other hand, it is not and will never be a threat to Bitcoin. They have different features and protocol in the first place. Comparing those two is useless, they are way too different.

[davis196]

I thought that the Libra project collapsed,because all the partners left and the US authorities threatened the project.Is Libra relevant again?Will Facebook continue this project without any support from other partners and without permission from the US authorities?
Talking about a project that still isn't launched(there's a possibility that it might never be launched) is just pure guessing,fantasizing and rumors.
Comparing libra with bitcoin is also wrong.Facebook just wanted a payment method for their services,they don't want a new cryptocurrency that will dominate the crypto world.

[hotmom]

All the same, a cryptocurrency that will be better than bitcoin will ever be launched on the market. And even if it's not Libra, it will be a different crypto.

[XCANA]

There's a possibility of Libra survive the rough regulations given to them before their launch and some of these regulations are purposely made to thwart their efforts and step aside for the bigger guys(Banks) to shine again. Libra be a threat to Bitcoin is not feasible feasible, we all know that this project is centralized and not decentralized like Bitcoin, so, I can't find a comparison between the two project even though Libra scale through the Huddle's.

[Ridwan Fauzi]

I will be agreed to someone who thinks that Libra and Bitcoin has a different purpose.

Indeed, bitcoin was supposed to be a new payment system in this era or also in the future but in the fact, the people nowaday just have one intention to hold bitcoin as mean of an investment place instead of a payment system.

This is why many developers out there who take it as a chance to make a token/coin which can be used as a means of the payment system so there will be many people who can be able to use it. There is a marketplace who just use cryptocurrency (an altcoin) as a mean of payment system and I've tried it once time. So, when the libra coin has really come I will be an enthusiast of it, at least it can be used as free promotion for most people aware of the utilization crypto currency.

[BlackFor3st]

Croatian bitcoin portal published a very interesting thinking by academics and economist John Vraz on this topic.
Source: https://crobitcoin.com/predstavlja-li-libra-i-dalje-prijetnju-bitcoinu/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=news
Vraz believes that LIbra will become a very serious competitor to bitcoin.
He believes bitcoin has problems as a means of payment and that bitcoin is disproportionately used as a speculative instrument.
in contrast, Libra was built with the intention of scaling as a payment net.
Vraz: ''The differentiation of the assets on which libre stability is based is a key factor for the performance of the currency''.
FB has a large user base and therefore a large initial range.
Vraz: ''Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies threaten to undermine banks' control over cash supply. This deprives them of the ability to create imaginary leverage in the economy, because in assets like Bitcoin, money cannot be created without cover''.

"Banks can borrow "same" money up to maybe eight or nine times in the partial reserve banking system. Thus, a lot of banks are creating a massive offer of money in the system of fractional reserves. With Bitcoin, you can't borrowing what you don't have.

Very interesting thoughts from Mr. Vraz. What do you think of his ideas?
Do you think Libra will be a serious threat and competition for bitcoin?

It's too early to decide it as you can see bitcoin has been contested by numerous currencies out there both stable currencies and not stable one but still bitcoin is still at the top. Bitcoin dominance still pretty high and I cannot see any turn of events even if Libra will be launch as investors will not shift easily especially if they cannot gain from Libra.

Bitcoin is not perfect  but whatever the other projects says about bitcoin, it is not yet enough to bring it down from it's position and bitcoin became stronger as days passes by therefore there is a big chance that nothing will change even if Libra will be launch so I cannot say that Libra possesses a threat to bitcoin.

[Natalim]

Libra never posed a threat to bitcoin. Even the leading person for the Calibra project, David Marcus clearly stated that on his tweets to clear the confusion. Libra was supposed to be a global currency for the facebook platform oriented around advertising. Bitcoin on the other hand does not compete with Libra on that.

Bitcoin started the decentralized system, Libra is centralized and I don't think a centralized project would ever beat the king of crypto.
Libra and bitcoin would both result to the improvement of the market, but it seems like Libra now has loss its hype, I don't know if it will be launch soon.

[Lucius]

I think most will agree that a Libra that doesn't exist at all (and maybe never will) can not be a threat to Bitcoin, because it is actually about two different concepts. Well, stable coin cannot be a threat to a decentralized system such as Bitcoin, which derives its power from this decentralization.

Although Libra targets underdeveloped countries, its global success would largely depend on large markets such as the USA, EU, China and India. And all of them have expressed their strong opposition to such a concept that would actually undermine national currencies. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has no need to seek permission for its existence, is accessible to anyone with internet access and can even function in countries such as China or Russia that greatly censor the internet and freedom of expression.

[bitcoin31]

Honestly I don't see a lot of news of Libra but in the first day they announced they launch their own coin I saw more news and speculation about this coin  but now it only some. But bitcoin is still popular to the online world because there is still more news and more investors are invest to the bitcoIn so that's why I think its still famous and I don't see any threat .

[Wind_FURY]

Libra will never exist in the form they're proposing. No government would let third parties with user bases of billions blow their own currencies apart. If it ever does emerge it'll be a watered down bitch that does their bidding.

If it ever did emerge in the form originally proposed it wouldn't be a threat to BTC. It is just as vulnerable to the weaknesses of fiat currencies as its value is derived from them, but it's vulnerable to more of them.

Have you read their updated white paper? It's just another payment system like Venmo. All allowed wallets will only be by hosted wallet providers, approved by Libra. Users also don't hold their own keys.

[Wexnident]

And isn't the fact that what OP said that BTC couldn't do the beauty of it? The only advantage of Libra imo is that it is being promoted by Facebook, a large (if not the largest) social media platform that almost anyone has used once before. But that's it. It's completely the opposite of BTC in terms of its usage and is honestly, no that appealing to those of us who have come to appreciate the value of BTC as a cryptocurrency. And besides, there's no perfect payment system out there, only appropriate ones. There would be, one way or another, a disadvantage that one cannot help but to have, but really, it's just another feature instead of a disadavantage, just that a lot of people refuse to accept it as such.

[pakhitheboss]

Facebook no doubt is a big company with lots of resources. It has the capability to build big projects and sell them to public. This one project might not go well with them and things have already turned sour for Libra.

Whatever they do now I do not think Libra will come into existence. If it does it will never be able to beat Bitcoin.

[isaac_clarke22]

I was just thinking the other day that I hadn't heard much about Libra for months, and I was wondering if the project had quietly been canceled--but I also figured I'd have seen some discussion here about that if it were the case.

Anyway, no; I don't think Libra would be a threat to bitcoin, nor do I even think they'd be competing for the same user base necessarily.  Most people who own bitcoin nowadays don't use it as a currency, but rather as an investment.  And since Libra is supposed to be a stablecoin, there would be no reason for anyone to own it as an investment.  They'd be using it as a currency for whatever Facebook intended them to use it for. 

I haven't searched the internet about Libra lately.  Has there been any news or developments?

Just gonna put it in here from my source in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(digital_currency)

It had an update like yesterday.
It was mentioned that they were planning to establish infrastructure for various cryptos though. This was the only update that I got from this year as last happened in October 2019, but there might be something more to the news though.
Honestly I don't think we should be threatened by the existence of Libra with Bitcoin as they're aiming for different purpose anyway.

[InwardContour]

Did Libra ever pose a threat to Bitcoin? In my opinion it never did. I've been following up on libra and the updates declined with time, the last update I saw was about numerous hindrances delaying libra's launch. To me, libra should expose more people to crypto and also fast track adoption, looking at the user base in view. However, since it's a stable coin, it doesn't pose any threat to the king (BTC). Looking at the present limitations, the real question now should be ; "will libra ever launch"?

[gweedo]

So far we have not heard of Libra's schedule, it seems that this project is being delayed for various reasons. And maybe it will never launch in this market, but if it is launched this year or the coming years I believe it will never affect Bitcoin. It will help many people know about Bitcoin and this market because Facebook has a large number of users

[Kodaman]

Nothing can be a threat to Bitcoin. Period.

[prof7bit]

So far we have not heard of Libra's schedule, it seems that this project is being delayed for various reasons. And maybe it will never launch in this market, but if it is launched this year or the coming years I believe it will never affect Bitcoin. It will help many people know about Bitcoin and this market because Facebook has a large number of users

I do not understand how Libra can be a competitor to Bitcoin when it is not known when this coin will be born. I believe that Ethereum is much more competitive and threatens Bitcoin.

[atjiat]

I believe that the project Libra, even without a real purpose for this, is already actively positively affecting the entire cryptocurrency market.  Many countries, including the USA  spoke out negatively about this project and, in order to insure themselves, they have long made decisions in order to regulate the blockchain industry.  And this is what already gives certain guarantees for investors, because it is in this situation that investing in
 cryptocurrencies becomes safer than before.  Thus, the libra project is already having a positive effect on the cryptocurrency market, even though it has not yet been implemented.

[Bitstar_coin]

I believe that the project Libra, even without a real purpose for this, is already actively positively affecting the entire cryptocurrency market.  Many countries, including the USA  spoke out negatively about this project and, in order to insure themselves, they have long made decisions in order to regulate the blockchain industry.  And this is what already gives certain guarantees for investors, because it is in this situation that investing in
 cryptocurrencies becomes safer than before.  Thus, the libra project is already having a positive effect on the cryptocurrency market, even though it has not yet been implemented.

Libra has to escape all the legal infringements around its neck to see the light of the day. A US Senator already told Libra team.that it would still.be treated as a security on hearing that Libra plans to build and develop on existing top stable coins in the market to gain grounds. Hopefully, they will find a way into crypto because the market could really use some boost

[Daniel91]

Thank you for your thoughts.
I also don't think Libra will become any serious threat to bitcoin.
About Libra we have had an interesting discussion in my local section of the forum before and browsing this topic I have encountered this very interesting news: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5192802.0
Summary of the article:
The FB currency is a near-collapse project because all the big financial investors, like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Ebuy etc. have retreated.
The main problems that caused this were the expected, money laundering, security, personal data Protection etc. and the FB appears to have failed to convince regulators that these issues have been  successfully resolved.
So, for now, it's probably not the main question of whether they can become serious competition for bitcoin, but whether they can even get started this project?
What do you think?

[Bitstar_coin]

Thank you for your thoughts.
I also don't think Libra will become any serious threat to bitcoin.
About Libra we have had an interesting discussion in my local section of the forum before and browsing this topic I have encountered this very interesting news: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5192802.0
Summary of the article:
The FB currency is a near-collapse project because all the big financial investors, like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Ebuy etc. have retreated.
The main problems that caused this were the expected, money laundering, security, personal data Protection etc. and the FB appears to have failed to convince regulators that these issues have been  successfully resolved.
So, for now, it's probably not the main question of whether they can become serious competition for bitcoin, but whether they can even get started this project?
What do you think?

That is just the right question. And from all indications, after updating their whitepaper, they are trying hard to take off but hindrances from SEC seems a little bogus for them at the moment. You can read a congresswoman thought on Libra launch here: https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-congresswoman-vows-to-brand-facebooks-libra-a-security-despite-todays-updates?utm_source=Telegram&utm_medium=social

[tabas]

It has been delay for so long that everyone has been waiting for the launch. We don't know when it will be allowed to launch by their own government and the rest will just follow.

So, for now, it's probably not the main question of whether they can become serious competition for bitcoin, but whether they can even get started this project?
What do you think?

It will be a stable coin and I don't see any threat or competition for it.

[foxdice]

libra is centralized...it's totally different, there is no room for comparison.

[Nasonn]

Is Libra project still live? No project can pose as a threat to Bitcoin given all that Bitcoin has been able to achieve. Libra is centralized and will strictly follow some laid down rules Bitcoin is not centralized and not government by any rule whatsoever.

[tvplus006]

...
I haven't searched the internet about Libra lately.  Has there been any news or developments?

On April 16, the Libra Association updated its White Paper outlining the Association's new plans. The Cover letter shows the main changes: https://libra.org/en-US/white-paper/ Instead of to Libra, national stablecoins will be released, such as LibraUSD, LibraEUR, LibraGBP and others. In addition, the document focuses on the security of the Libra payment system.