Facebook recently announced its entry into the cryptocurrency market and got a cold shoulder from lawmakers around the world.
Libra’s vision is to create a simple global currency, which is based on a blockchain technology, is stable and not bounded by any national regulation. After its launch, Libra could be used to buy and sell within Facebook apps, including Messenger and WhatsApp. The money could be transfer virtually anywhere in the world almost instantly with a simple click on a button.
Immediately after Facebook announced the launch of Libra, political and banking systems around the world began to protest loudly and warn of the dangers of implementing cryptocurrencies into such a widespread platform. They point out that Libra could further weaken financially fragile countries, threaten national security, facilitate money laundering and even facilitate terrorist activities. What really worries them the most is that Libra, with its ubiquity, can threaten the stability of fiat currencies.
By implementing Libra, Facebook could create its own currency independent of governments and (currently still) unregulated in most countries, and this could seriously threaten the economy of the entire world.
Almost half of the world’s population does not have a bank account, which is a unique opportunity for Facebook. It boasts more than two billion created profiles that will get the opportunity to use Libra.
Will Libra be too big to be stopped?
While regulators are struggling to stop or at least slow down the Libra project in every way possible, big names like PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Uber, Spotify and others are joining the project. Developers are already creating apps, investors are supporting the project, and Calibra – a digital wallet – has seen the light of day. However, experts warn that at such a pace, the project will soon be too big to be stopped and become the first example of a victory of corporations over state regulations.
