There’s big news today on Facebook’s stablecoin – the much-awaited white paper has been released today.
Here’s some of what we know about this budding cryptocurrency:
At the head of coin’s org chart will be the Swiss-based Libra Association made up of early investing firms that each chipped in $10 million to become part of this intrepid crew – some of these early adopters include MasterCard and Visa credit card companies, as well as Stripe, eBay and Uber.
Facebook representatives say the company aims to have 100 members (assumedly corporate entities) in the Libra Association by the coin’s launch next year.
Facebook will also unveil a ‘Libra Investment Token’ which holders can redeem against reserve assets that are supposed to be chosen for their lack of volatility.
In other words, while the stablecoin will not be tied to one particular fiat it will be tied to a range of chosen assets (not necessarily strictly identified) in order to shore up its value.
While some are enthusiastic about Facebook’s deliberate design, others are less optimistic about the inherently centralized creation of a stablecoin.
“So basically, all the normies b like, ‘see, I told you bitcoin was a scam,” writes Plant Doktor, commenting on Cointelegraph’s announcement of the white paper drop with a diatribe that presents possibilities through theoretical dialogue. “’This Libra coin is actually BACKED by something’ Lolol. Then they’re going to watch as Bitcoin prices keep rising, and start wondering….why? Maybe Bitcoin is something they didn’t understand….maybe they want a little Bitcoin in addition to Libra….oh wait, fiat value is crashing? Everyone on the Libra council is a profiteer, or criminal organization (Facebook)? Libra is centrally controlled, (bolded ours) and Bitcoin isn’t? Libra is basically fiat, but WORSE??? Bitcoin to da moon…”
The argument here goes back to the foundational makeup of Bitcoin as a decentralized asset working on a consensus node model. Facebook’s creation, on the other hand, will be controlled by a set of corporate actors.
In today’s environment, many smaller investors are pretty skeptical about the benevolence of corporate entitites – so as Plant Doktor insinuates, Bitcoin may very well remain the coin of choice for the liberty-oriented crypto fan.
Nonetheless, as other posters point out, Facebook will do handily since it can collect from its stablecoin transactions within the platform and beyond.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s stock spiked, according to Mark Decambre at Marketwatch, if you can call 2% a spike. Where is it going next? Weigh in and let us know what you think!
