Following
Facebook’s June announcement of plans to create a digital currency known as
Libra, the company’s recent investor report has engendered a bit of pessimism
about the potential new global coin. The report referenced the firm’s lack of
experience in the blockchain field as well as “scrutiny from governments.”
Concerns
and a Possible Delay
Facebook’s
announcement attracted enormous attention, but not all of it was positive.
Several well-known public figures have appeared to raise concerns about Libra
and the potential harm it may cause, and a knock-off website was even launched
purporting to sell Libra coins (which are, in truth, far from being released).
Some of
those names include U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit
Coeure, and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
Alluding to
its lack of industry experience, Facebook stated in its quarterly report that
Libra and Calibra could be delayed or even not launched at all.
The CEO of
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, stated that the company would take as much time as
it needed to improve on all fronts and to “address regulators and different
experts and constituents’ questions about this and then figure out what the
best way to move forward is”.
Libra’s
Mission
Facebook’s
digital currency is currently set to launch in 2020. David Marcus is spearheading
the development of the project and testified at a congressional hearing earlier
this month. In describing the currency’s mission, he explained that Libra and
the digital wallet Calibra could be a more effective and low-cost way of
transferring money from one person to another.
Some
questions have been raised about Libra’s potential, and it has even been
referred to as a PayPal upgrade.
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