New Libra, Facebook global crypto currency

[dueda]

And so it begins: The four horsemen begin their stride, and all will have the mark of the beast...

He has our faces, our data, our friends, our attention, and now he wants our money. All the Money in the world - Or at least the 10% in hands of 90% of people.

[Headbanger]

I don't see the appeal of cryptocurrency in general anymore. It was an interesting proof of concept when it first came out, but it seems to not have much in the way of practical applications. Ok, it does seem to have a niche with illegal markets, like the silk road thing that was going on not too long ago, but outside of that, the value fluctuates too much to be useful.

I'm not sure that any cryptocurrency scheme is worth pursuing, let alone one done by Facebook.

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I stumbled across this about the same time you posted this thread. Coincidence? Probably.

It seems the Donald is not a fan of cryptocurrency https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019...egulation/

[dueda]

Interesting how he said (quoting from that article):

"If Facebook ... want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations"
"not a fan ... Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air."

Unsurprising. Unregulated coins are volatile (but still kept under control by the bigger fishes), while the "real" coins are kept under strict, artificial control by the authorities (or the bigger nations). Knowing that prices are not only set by demand but also by design (shaping and regulation), are those fluctuations abnormal or just our monetary system's reverberation on the shores of the "real" world? Are the "Goldman-Sachs" types so scared of the leak in the dam that will lead to a rupture?

Money is worth what some say and many think it is, a big reservoir over a complex pipe network; but there're priorities in it's flow: Needs first, whims last. What happens if the whole world is on the same page and authorities have no control over it? Would a lawyer work for $1.50/hour and pay $150,000 on a VW Beetle?

Money is the liquid in a pyramid cascading fountain, the one made with champagne cups, and the guys at the top can't hold that big bubbly bottle if someone decides to scatter the glasses all around the room and raze flat the entire thing. Unlike Gates, looks like Zuckerberg is a real psycho and he doesn't play poker.

FB is not the only, there're already some flat-rate direct global transfer companies operating (legally, with big investment funds). Fall-Out's Canada-China war may come by 2020-2050, who knows?

[Executive]

I've been aware of Bitcoin since it started 10 years ago, and I've been using it in the course of my online businesses and investing since late 2016.  However I only deal with legitimate companies.   Granted the value of BTC has gone up and down over the years, but that's no different than company stock.  It's a supply-and-demand form.  When people sell Bitcoin for U.S. Dollars or for whatever the currency is in their country, the value of the coin goes down.  When they fund their Bitcoin wallets the value increases.  Sometimes it jumps sharply, but the drop in value hasn't been that severe ( at least not in the last few years ).

Now Facebook has their own currency : Libra, and I can tell you from doing business with dozens of people in Facebook going back to 2010 that nobody is using it that I deal with.

Just because a handful of crooks and questionable people are using Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and hundreds of other crypto-currencies doesn't mean that the rest of us using it have to suffer.  If it was such an issue that wouldn't have come to light now after all of these years. Facebook has been under scrutiny due to storing people's personal information, however, and that may be the reason. However, I've kept my Facebook account bare-bones the entire time I've used it.

Steve Mnuchin -- head of Trump's U.S. Treasury decided to take this on.  Maybe the real reason is so the masses who aren't already rich won't become rich.  Leave it to the Trump Administration to again stand in the way of ordinary people by using the excuse that there are cyber-criminals using cyrpto.....when the law-breakers been doing the same with fiat currency since this country began!

The Republicans hate regulation when it comes to polluting our air, water, and allow the climate disaster to worsen, and all in the name of corporate power and greed.  Yet when it comes to everyone else,  those corporations don't need more competition!  No ,that would be a terrible thing.....  

[dueda]

Maybe the real reason is so the masses who aren't already rich won't become rich.

But can it work? Parallel currency sounds like torrents; will the free system work? There were many private- or local- issue coins, they've been around for centuries, and ended unnecessary, superseeded, bust, or retired by someone's order.

[Executive]

Maybe the real reason is so the masses who aren't already rich won't become rich.

But can it work? Parallel currency sounds like torrents; will the free system work? There were many private- or local- issue coins, they've been around for centuries, and ended unnecessary, superseeded, bust, or retired by someone's order.

Bitcoin has worked for 10 years.  BitPay has been around at least half that time along with their VISA debit card.  

Maybe coins that were around for decades or even centuries were discontinued, but there are always others still in use and circulation.  In recent years the Greek economy crashed because of the devaluing of the Dracma.   As the European Union grew as a coalition, some countries permanently switched to the Euro.

Electronic currencies pre-Bitcoin were backed by the U.S. Dollar and / or precious metals and were forced to shut down by the government.  Anyone remember eGold ?  OSGold ? eBullion ? Payza ? They were all around several years but are no more.....   Others have survived, such as PayPal and Solid Trust Pay.

[dueda]

Ten years is a short time for a social experiment, I guess we're still to see how it plays. But yes, coins come and go a lot, and we can say the old cheques and the current credit cards are some sort of coin - Just they work as a transport / transfer for other currencies. Bitcoin on the other hand has no connection to any valuable or commodity, it's generated by algorithm and it's value is set by demand. For what I hear of Zuckerberg, he'll use this virtual coin to make a lot of real Dollar$ and increase his influence over the market, he wants power (what for, I've no idea).

[Executive]

There are hundreds of crypto-currencies now. Due to lack of regulation there is plenty of competition in that area. That can be a good or bad thing.....time will tell!

[dueda]

I rather invest in gold or commodities, but it would be interesting to see how those cryptocurrencies behave in case of a war or other finnancial collapse.