Posted on 06/06/2019 2:19:26 PM PDT by cann
Facebook is finally ready to reveal details about its cryptocurrency codenamed Libra. It’s currently scheduled for a June 18th release of a white paper explaining its cryptocurrency’s basics, according to a source who says multiple investors briefed on the project by Facebook were told that date.
Meanwhile, the company’s Head of Financial Services & Payment Partnerships for Northern Europe Laura McCracken told German magazine WirtschaftsWoche‘s Sebastian Kirsch that the white paper would debut June 18th, and that the cryptocurrency would indeed be pegged to a basket of currencies rather than a single one like the US dollar to prevent price fluctuations. Kirsch tells me “I met Laura at Money2020 Europe in Amsterdam on Tuesday” after she watched fellow Facebook payments exec Paulette Rowe’s talk. “She told me that she wasn’t involved in what David Marcus’ [Facebook Blockchain] team was doing. But that I’d have to wait until June 18th when a whitepaper was supposed to be published to get more details.” She told him she thought the date was already a publicly known fact, which it wasn’t.
Then, yesterday TechCrunch received a request for a June 18th news embargo from one of the communications managers for Facebook’s blockchain team. The Information’s Alex Heath and Jon Victor also reported yesterday that Facebook’s cryptocurrency project would launch later this month.
Facebook declined to comment on any news regarding its cryptocurrency project. There is always a chance that the announcement date could fluctuate if snafus with partners or governments arise. One source says Facebook is targeting a 2020 formal launch of the cryptocurrency
The debut of Libra or whatever Facebook decides to call it could unlock a new era of commerce and payments for the social network. It could be used to offer low or no-fee payments between friends or remittance of earnings to familys from migrant workers abroad who are often gouged by money transfer services.
Sidestepping credit card transaction fees could also allow Facebook’s cryptocurrency to offer a cheaper way to pay merchants for traditional ecommerce, or facilitate microtransactions for a la carte news articles or tipping of content creators. And a better understanding of who buys what or which brands or popular could aid Facebook in ad measurement, ranking, and targeting to amplify its core business.
How Facebook’s cryptocurrency works Here’s what we know about Facebook’s blockchain project:
Name: Facebook will likely use the Libra codename as the public facing name for its cryptocurrency, which The Information reports won’t be called GlobalCoin as the BBC had claimed. Facebook has registed a company called Libra Networks in Switzerland for financial services, Reuters reported. Libra could be a play on the word LIBOR, an abbreviation for the London Inter-bank Offered Rate that’s used as a benchmark interest rate for borrowing between banks. LIBOR is for banks, while Libra is meant to be for the people.
Token: The cryptocurrency will be a stablecoin — a token designed to have a stable price to prevent discrepancies and complications due to price fluctuations during a payment or negotiation process. Facebook has spoken with financial institutions regarding contributing capital to form a $1 billion basket of multiple international fiat currencies and low-risk securities that will serve as collateral to stabilize the price of the coin, The Information reports. Facebook is working with various countries to pre-approve the rollout of the stablecoin.
Usage: Facebook’s cryptocurrency will be transferrable with zero fees via Facebook products including Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook is working with merchants to accept the token as payment, and may offer sign-up bonuses. The Information also reports Facebook also wants to roll out physical devices for ATMs so users can exchange traditional assets for the cryptocurrency.
Team: Facebook’s blockchain project is overseen by former PayPal President and VP of Facebook Messenger David Marcus. His team includes former Instagram VP of product Kevin Weil, Facebook’s former corporate head of treasury operations Sunita Parasuraman who The Information reports will oversee the token’s treasury, and many elite engineers cherrypicked from Facebook’s ranks. They’ve been working in a dedicated part of Facebook’s headquarters off-limits to other employees to boost secrecy, though the nature of the partnerships needed for launch have led to many leaks.
Governance: Facebook is in talks to create an independent foundation to oversee its cryptocurrency, The Information reports. It’s asking companies to pay $10 million to operate a node that can validate transactions made with its cryptocurrency in exchange for a say in governance of the token. It’s possible that node operators could benefit financially too. By introducing a level of decentralization to the governance of the project, Facebook may be able to avoid regulation related to it holding too much power over a global currency.
LOL Like I would ever trust facebook.
I made an ‘A’ in Finance in college and for the life of me, I cannot understand BitCoin or any cryptocurrency.
The Left can’t wait to see the dollar plunge.
They want it abandoned as the world’s most trusted and stable currency.
If they succeed, it will be the end of life as we know it.
Yeah right. Like I would ever buy into Fakebook cryptocurrency.
If they would ban you for simply being a conservative, God knows they would lock your cryptocurrency account and delete it like so many thousands of conservative FB posts.
Fakebucks from Fakebook.
Yeah, just what the world needs. A Socialist social media website issuing its own ‘money’.
Sounds like a mutual fund to me.
What could go wrong? heh, heh, heh. This will not end well for a whole bunch of suckahhzz.
Like I said, What could go rwong?
Imagine the data they could capture if they controlled your money. I honestly think these big social media companies and really any company trading and profiting off of personal information should either allow people to opt out, or compensate them for use of their data.
How long will it take until BezosBucks from Amazon, I wonder?
LIBOR, hmmmm.
If they would ban you for simply being a conservative, God knows they would lock your cryptocurrency account and delete it like so many thousands of conservative FB posts.
Mark of the Beast. Crash all the other currencies, where this is the replacement. If one does not worship the Beast, agree that “global warming” is a problem, celebrate “gay marriage”, accept and embrace that gender is what ever you feel like, and agree that logic and reason is the perpetuation of white cisheteropatriarchy, one can not make any transactions. Zuckerberg is in league with the Antichrist. In Sorte Diaboli.
Digital money. They can give it and TAKE it away. Invisible money.
I am a fan of crypto currency and blockchain. I would not give Zuckerburg a peek into my money and spending habits. He is a dangerous guy.
If you are going to do this, use a truly independent method, not some private crap.
That must have been a while ago. It’s not that hard to grasp.
Hey, FB would never gouge those "familys."
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