<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Facebook has drawn a lot of heat over its plans to create a cryptocurrency called Libra, now set for late 2020. Many argue that it could simply use traditional payment networks instead, and avoid all the fuss. But, speaking in a Q&A at Ethereal, Tel Aviv, Tomer Barel, COO at Calibra (which is running the Libra project), explained why it was going to all this effort.” data-reactid=”19″>Facebook has drawn a lot of heat over its plans to create a cryptocurrency called Libra, now set for late 2020. Many argue that it could simply use traditional payment networks instead, and avoid all the fuss. But, speaking in a Q&A at Ethereal, Tel Aviv, Tomer Barel, COO at Calibra (which is running the Libra project), explained why it was going to all this effort.
Interviewer Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of ZenGo—a crypto wallet which is building on Libra—asked why the project needs a cryptocurrency when it could have used traditional payment networks. In response, Barel argued that fiat money is broken.
“[We realized] that for a currency to be successful, it cannot be controlled by a single entity. This is what blockchain brings us,” he said.
He added that it also needs to be transparent and, crucially, secure—which, he claimed, blockchain provides.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Libra plans to launch in the second half of 2020” data-reactid=”23″>Libra plans to launch in the second half of 2020
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="When asked who Libra’s biggest competitor was, he replied: “Cash.” Bringing the dialogue back to Libra’s all-too-familiar promise of “banking the unbanked,” he said that cash is often still used because it fills holes in our current financial system, typically where alternatives to using cash are simply too expensive.” data-reactid=”24″>When asked who Libra’s biggest competitor was, he replied: “Cash.” Bringing the dialogue back to Libra’s all-too-familiar promise of “banking the unbanked,” he said that cash is often still used because it fills holes in our current financial system, typically where alternatives to using cash are simply too expensive.
“When people use cash, it demonstrates the limitations of modern financial services,” he said, adding, “When we see the use of cash diminish, that means we will have been successful in providing more access to financial services.”
And the trick to its success against cash’s dominance, he repeated, is that Libra’s open-source and not controlled by a single entity. “[This] will make Libra a utility rather than private money,” said Barel.
But despite the aim of keeping Libra at arm’s length from Facebook (via its subsidiary Calibra), he admitted it has been challenging keeping the two distinct, in the public’s eye.
“The confusion is natural. It’s a combination of confusion and mistrust. [Libra] is a project that was initiated and developed within Facebook,” he said.
Barel acknowledged that—while it has outside developers contributing to Libra’s code, which was released on testnet three months ago—90 percent of the code was developed by Facebook. On top of that, Facebook initiated the whole project. But despite the confusion, he maintained that, by the time of launch, it will be owned by many different parties, meaning it will become more and more separated from the social media giant.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="And to back his statement up, he said he was willing to eat his own dog food. After Facebook’s blockchain lead David Marcus said in Congress he would be happy to be paid in Libra, Barel followed suit. He stated, “Absolutely. I would welcome being compensated with Libra.”” data-reactid=”30″>And to back his statement up, he said he was willing to eat his own dog food. After Facebook’s blockchain lead David Marcus said in Congress he would be happy to be paid in Libra, Barel followed suit. He stated, “Absolutely. I would welcome being compensated with Libra.”
But he pointed out that Facebook currently has no plans of doing so.
Add Comment