Facebook's New Cryptocurrency, Libra, Gets Big Backers (wsj.com) 127
Facebook has signed up more than a dozen companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Uber to back a new cryptocurrency it plans to unveil next week and launch next year, according to a WSJ report. From the report: The financial and e-commerce companies, venture capitalists and telecommunications firms will invest around $10 million each in a consortium that will govern the digital coin, called Libra [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], according to people familiar with the matter. The money would be used to fund the creation of the coin, which will be pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies to avoid the wild swings that have dogged other cryptocurrencies, they said. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Facebook was recruiting backers to help start the crypto-based payments system and was seeking to raise as much as around $1 billion for the effort. In the works for more than a year, the secretive project revolves around a digital coin that its users could send to each other and use to make purchases both on Facebook and across the internet. Talks with some of the partners are ongoing, and the group's eventual membership may change, the people added.
Re:Big money in it? (Score:5, Informative)
I thought the appeal of the original ones, like Bitcoin was that it was NOT owned by any central company, interest, government or country.
Why would anyone want to use something created by a corporation like Facebook or others?
Also, how will FB make money off this?
AN idea. (Score:3, Interesting)
They'd be able to track people's purchases across ALL platforms and retailers. It wouldn't matter if you're buying from Amazon , eBay or anywhere else. Just imagine the data they could accumulate and the targeted ads.
In George Orwell's time, government was the huge fear from surveillance, misinformation and subjugation. But it's turning out that it's our twisted fascist corporate system that is turning us into slaves to be monitored.
Re: (Score:2)
They don't need a cryptocurrency for that. It looks more like cashing on buzzwords.
With their stated goal, a digital coin that its users could send to each other and use to make purchases both on Facebook and across the internet, doesn't quite match the role of a cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies overcome the difficulty of verification and trust of the system even when you don't trust the other parties. This prevents forgeries, double-spending tokens, and assorted other problems when there is no central aut
Re:AN idea. (Score:4, Insightful)
No, they don't I trust random people on the internet more than I do bitcoin exchanges. The majority of people are honest, but I've yet to see a bitcoin exchange go more than a year or two without stealing all the money. Or losing it in a "frozen wallet". Or a dozen other scams.
Re: (Score:2)
They'd be able to track people's purchases across ALL platforms and retailers. It wouldn't matter if you're buying from Amazon , eBay or anywhere else. Just imagine the data they could accumulate and the targeted ads.
Wait: isn't the whole advantage of crypto as a currency supposed to be that transactions are not traceable? Otherwise, it's not cryptocurrency but just another local scrip, like Ithaca Hours but online.
Re: (Score:2)
Because it is a Cryto currency and it is supported by a big company like Facebook.
There is a general appeal of being part of the winning side when the revolution comes.
If someone jumps onto a Fad which becomes a Trend early they have a big head start. However if it is just a Fad then they waste money.
Be VERY Afraid. (Score:5, Insightful)
Would YOU trust Facebook with your bank account?
Re: (Score:2)
Would YOU trust Facebook with your bank account?
Given I barely trust them with my name and E-mail account.... No. Facebook has never known anything other than fictional data about me apart from what I click on. I remember a decade ago warning my friends and family not to share anything more than necessary with FB and their dumb looks back when they said I was crazy.
corporations are the monsters from fairytales (Score:3)
We're coming for your LIVER next!
Are non-communists allowed to use it? (Score:1)
Will anyone who falls to the right of communism on the political spectrum be allowed to use this technology?
It seems like anyone who isn't a diehard communist is quickly banned/censored on most other platforms today. Is it the same for this tech?
Re: (Score:2)
It seems like anyone who isn't a diehard communist is quickly banned/censored on most other platforms today.
When was the last time you met a communist? These days it's hard to even find an anarchist. It's all become, "Let's make our team win!"
Re: Amerikuk Boogey Commies! (Score:1)
Hah! You think "fascism" exists! What naivety!
"Fascism" is the term used by communists to describe the undeniably negative aspects of communism. They use a different term to trick you into thinking it's something else, when really they're referring to themselves.
Both communism and fascism occupy the same place at the far left of the political spectrum, where the focus is on complete centralization and no individuality.
Re: (Score:3)
Actually Communism (I.e. Marx-Leninism) isn't even a form of totalitarianism. It's just that all implementations of it quickly develop into totalitarianism, because of implicit structural defects.
There have been many forms of communism (lower case c) that did not develop into totalitarianism. None of them that I've heard of scaled successfully beyond the small village level. At a small enough scale it works pretty well. It's got to be a small enough group that everyone knows everyone else fairly well, a
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Take systemd and Firefox for example. Normal users have absolutely no say at all with how those products have evolved. In fact, many of the changes are despised by the users, yet the changes are forced on these users anyway.
The problem is not that Firefox is "proprietary". It's not. You can download the complete source code for Firefox and compile your own fully functional version of Firefox. I've done it. It's a huge pain in the ass, but I've done it.
The real problem, the reason why users have no say in the development of Firefox, is the myth of open source.
The Firefox source code is a massive, completely undocumented clusterfuck, written mostly in C++ which is a massive clusterfuck of a programming language. So, techni
Re: Be VERY Afraid. (Score:1)
Sure, why not (Score:1)
It's a veritable party of big companies trying to steal bitcoin's thunder.
Because who would possibly want a truly independent coin, when you can have corporate influence?
It will be forced (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course the key premise here is that Spybook intends to eventually force its users to use the crypto instead of dollars, in hopes that it reaches critical mass where even non-users of Spybook are forced to use it (meaning they effectively "sign up" for Spybook).
There is no other way to do it (besides forcing it), because it solves no actual problem that dollars haven't already solved.
Re: It will be forced (Score:2)
Re: It will be forced (Score:1)
Yep. If Facebook even gets within 5 light years of replacing the dollar there's a good chance Zuckerberg will be "disappeared" quite swiftly. Nobody fucks with the American bank system but the American government.
Keep building this FB!!
Facebook crypto? I don't think so! (Score:2)
But with their history of spying, I can understand why big money would back them up.
The rest of us should avoid it like the proverbial plague.
Re: (Score:2)
The rest of us should avoid it like the proverbial plague.
Yeah but the transaction fees are lower. And it's more convenient. I know, privacy, but this is money we're talking about.
Re: (Score:1)
They're going to take away our cash. If they suck enough people in, it will be a trivial effort. Only criminals use cash
Re: (Score:2)
I'm investing (Score:2, Funny)
I am investing in this, as well as Tesla and Beyond Meat and Uber. Nothing can possibly go wrong.
Re: (Score:1)
Your personal crusade against impossible burgers is duly noted, but you really shouldn't be such a 1-trick asshole about it... it's over. You don't like it. Everyone else does, and you're overruled by the market. Oh well, you lose, they win.
Re: (Score:1)
Hipsters and their "movements". What a joke. I don't even eat red meat and I know that Beyond Meat (and Impossible Whatever) sucks. Try a good black bean burger. It tastes better and is more healthy. Take your astroturfing somewhere else. Bankrupt in 5 years.
Re: (Score:2)
This is why manufacturers of meat substitutes and cultured meat should be selling to the diet market and perhaps vegetarians, and not waste their time with vegans. Vegans are religious hipsters who only eat food that tastes of self-sacrifice.
Re: (Score:2)
The actual point is that it doesn't need to be everyone on either side. And it won't be, this decade. If they get the price low enough, and enough people like it, then the anti-cruelty people will abolish butchers. And another species will *start* headed for extinction. (It probably won't get there. Well, not for a century or so anyway.)
Humans are using up resources needed to support life. Necessarily, because they are life. But they are using so many that many other species are headed for extinction
Re: (Score:1)
Who said anything about Impossible Burgers? I am talking about Beyond Meat. You are confused.
Re: (Score:1)
I only have a single crusade: against Hipsters and Nutters. That includes people who claim to be "green" for virtue signaling purposes, Space Nutters and AI nutters and idiots who think they are some part of a corporate based "movement". You are probably all of the above.
Re: (Score:2)
It has nothing to do with "personal tastes". Grow up kid, some people are right, some are wrong. Your mommy probably told you that all opinions are equal and should be equally considered. She was wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
Nope, you are wrong. Just look at the next "article": some AI Nutter thinks in 10 years we won't be listening to music. It is his opinion, and he is wrong too. You see, people can be wrong, just plain wrong. All opinions are not equal. Some opinions are just plain wrong. You will learn that someday, maybe when you grow up. But you probably are a white suburbanite guy who lives in a tech bubble and has the luxury of seeing life from afar, so that will never happen. It is fine to have different tastes, but if
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I think he's wrong, but I never would have predicted punk rock or hip-hop, so he could be right. Why be dogmatic when we could just wait a decade and see.
Re: (Score:2)
That's weird. It is right there in the summary: "venture capitalists and telecommunications firms will invest around $10 million each in a consortium that will govern the digital coin, called Libra"
But you cryptocurrency guys are the experts.
Re: (Score:2)
If it were actually a purchase that retained it's value over time, it would be better than most investments. Certainly better than a treasury bond.
Money transfer system (Score:4, Interesting)
"As a borderless currency with no transaction fees when used within the Facebook ecosystem (Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram), the prospective coin is poised to make a considerable impact in developing countries, where the company is looking to primarily market it, according to The Information’s report."
also
"A license to operate a node on the network will reportedly cost outside entities $10 million each, and will come with a right to delegate representatives to the foundation and participate in the network’s governance. The network is expected to launch with 100 nodes"
Not exactly bitcoin.
Re: (Score:2)
The truth of the matter is that there is a lot of trust in the world; humans generally are trustworthy. So, this trustworthiness can be employed profitably through centralization. This "Libra" coin is using this trust to form a federated network of vetted operators
Every single one of the participants in this network is known to be untrustworthy, and will screw you over the moment it becomes profitable to do so. Seriously, what idiot trusts a bank? That's why we have FDIC insurance and strict banking laws.
Re: What idiot trusts a violently imposed monopoly (Score:2)
flooz meets itunes gift card (Score:3)
Combines the worst aspects of Visa and Money Orders. you have to pre-pay, it won't work outside a closed network, mechants pay so the consumer is silently paying too, and it's centralized, and creates a alternative money supply disrupting one of the few good things central banks accomplish. And if it folds you lose your flooz.
Shouldn't be Facebuck? (Score:2, Insightful)
I mean, Libra? Come on... it's Spanish/Portuguese for Pound. It's prone for confusion...
Re: (Score:2)
In Australia, Libra is one of the most popular brands of "female sanitary products" (pads and tampons).
India (Score:2)
Didnt india just ban all cryptocurrencies? Seems like that trend is sure to catch on.
Re: India (Score:1)
Old meme repurposed (Score:3, Funny)
No anonymity. Purchases easily tied to individuals and tracked for advertising purposes. Lame.
h/t to Rob.
Not liking the tie-in (Score:2)
which will be pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies to avoid the wild swings that have dogged other cryptocurrencies
That sounds kind of sucky to me, a large part of the draw of crypto currencies is that they offer a true alternative to nation-based currency.
Without the potential for "wild swings" they will also limit investment and speculation to a large extent, I mean right now would you invest in a basket of currencies from nations around the world? I sure wouldn't. A real cryptocurrency wo
Re: (Score:3)
Without the potential for "wild swings" they will also limit investment and speculation to a large extent
Pretty sure that is part of the point-it's not for investment. Its for spending (and since it's Facebook, tracking that spending)
I mean right now would you invest in a basket of currencies from nations around the world? I sure wouldn't. A real cryptocurrency would be more stable (or at least less controlled by falling currency) in a real world-wide economic crisis, part of the appeal.
By pegging to multiple currencies it adds a measure stability and mitigates the risk. It's probably a mixture like the dollar, euro, yen, etc that other currencies also tend to be pegged too. If one currency crashes the rest should hold the value somewhat steady. If multiple major currencies around the world crash simultaneously, well, you're probably better off having a cache
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty sure that is part of the point-it's not for investment. Its for spending (and since it's Facebook, tracking that spending)
Ok, so what is the reason why I would ever prefer this over actual cash and real banks, if it's just going to act like cash with worse tracking requirements around spending?
By pegging to multiple currencies it adds a measure stability
Right up until the next global financial crisis, when all of those multiple currencies tend to act in unison...
The measure of stability you get is ex
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty sure that is part of the point-it's not for investment. Its for spending (and since it's Facebook, tracking that spending)
Ok, so what is the reason why I would ever prefer this over actual cash and real banks, if it's just going to act like cash with worse tracking requirements around spending?
Exactly.
Re: (Score:2)
Without the potential for "wild swings" they will also limit investment and speculation to a large extent, I mean right now would you invest in a basket of currencies from nations around the world? I sure wouldn't.
The point is that medium time scale business activities strongly prefer more stability than existing cryptocurrencies can offer, where sudden movement up or down can force a contract to be broken. So while speculators may think volatility is fun, the uncertainty is overall much more a cost than an opportunity to people who run real businesses.
We can speculate that a tie in to existing currencies is less than ideal, but at least the existing currencies as a whole have a track record than can be understood a
Re: (Score:2)
To use it as an intermediary in transactions of goods.
Re: (Score:3)
How is the average joe supposed to use this? (Score:2)
The IRS says that crypto is property and you have to calculate and record your gain/loss at the time of every transaction.
Are these businesses going to do all this work and perform withholding for everyone? Because that's just what I need, Facebook taxes...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Unfortunately, LOTS of people trust Facebook. You may not trust them, and I may not trust them, but there are lots of "dumb fucks" (to quote a relevant authority).
Facebook: screwing his users since... (Score:2)
ZuckerBucks! (Score:1)
It's a fraud. Like Theranos and Tesla, even worse.
Re: (Score:2)
What is fraudulent about Tesla is their advertising, and the way they name their features.
Outside of that I think they're doing very good and important work.
MOD UP (Score:2)
By far the most insightful comment here
Not trust worthy (Score:1)
Eat shit and die, Fecebook and Zuckerberg (Score:2)