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Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

techcrunch.com

211–220 of 345 posts

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#211

I’m not sure how anyone has even the slightest trust in Facebook anymore. Why is it that people still use the service? Is convenience really that powerful?

People are just habituated towards opening FB every time they're bored. I used to do that myself until a few years back. Consumers aren't buying anything on FB though, but advertisers are.

Considering how many veritable snake oil products gets advertised the platform, not to mention political propaganda pushed as "promoted posts", I can't help but wonder if this push to crypto is FB's way of hiding who its ad buyers are in the future.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#212
post #138

What is the best way to profit from all this crypto hype, as a rational person who’s convinced all coins will eventually go to zero?

Start offering a $99 course on how to profit from FB Libra. Doesn't matter if you don't know anything about it, because the people who buy shovels during a gold rush usually know even less.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#213

I will revisit this thread in 2021 just to see how wrong everyone was. FB has billions of users that interact with its product everyday. People who make plans, attend events, split all sort of bills. A borderless stablecoin will be a gamechanger. It can fuel commerce but above that it will kill many middlemen and rightly so.

Why do they need a crypto currency to achieve that? How is it superior to just a number in a database to represents your balance on facebook? Facebook is centralized what advantage does a decentralized currency have for them?

Venmo/Paypal seem to have no problem achieving this without a blockchain.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#214
post #152

I’m not sure how anyone has even the slightest trust in Facebook anymore. Why is it that people still use the service? Is convenience really that powerful?

I use Facebook. Is there any way they can harm me as a result apart from maybe trying to show adverts which I don't see. (I use uBlock and fbpurity).

It's more big picture. Your individual data is useless. The data of a huge % of the US (or other country, or planet) is extremely powerful. As a facebook user you contribute to that data.

So, no you individually using fb or not doesn't really matter other than on principle. I don't use it because I find them morally reprehensible, but I also understand my boycott is purely symbolic unless another 100m or so people join me (probably won't happen).

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#215

More and more I get the feeling that the majority of the HN crowd are FB employees. Any other post about crypto is a scam. Any other tech than react is immature. Etc etc. Have fun at FB guys, I hope your share vest soon

Are you joking? In every thread about FB besides this one, almost every single comment actively bashes FB.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#216

I will revisit this thread in 2021 just to see how wrong everyone was. FB has billions of users that interact with its product everyday. People who make plans, attend events, split all sort of bills. A borderless stablecoin will be a gamechanger. It can fuel commerce but above that it will kill many middlemen and rightly so.

A payments system on Facebook makes a ton of sense and would be very useful. I just don't get why it has to be cryptocurrency.

Facebook already had Facebook Credits around 2011-2012, but it was killed in 2013.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#217

A cryptocurrency that violates one of the main tenants of cryptocurrencies. The fact is doesn't require a centralized authority. This is basically Twitch bits and shouldn't be classified as a cryptocurrency. As others have stated, probably the only reason to use one is because an existing blockchain can simply be used under a new brand.

Didn't Kik try and do something similar as well and came under fire from the SEC?

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#218
post #196

I will revisit this thread in 2021 just to see how wrong everyone was. FB has billions of users that interact with its product everyday. People who make plans, attend events, split all sort of bills. A borderless stablecoin will be a gamechanger. It can fuel commerce but above that it will kill many middlemen and rightly so.

Every new financal technology tries to kill the existing middlemen, then replace them with new middlemen who promise to be better. Turns out, these new middlemen (1) never fully comprehend how complex modern finance is, which raises costs, and (2) are human and thus become corrupt, whether subtly or unsubtly, over time. I also have a sneaking suspicion that, in conjunction with point (1), many of these modern finance…

I don't understand your point. No one is disagreeing about the contribution that big finance has made in shaping our current systems. FB raised money, got listed. There's tons of financial system which helped them and help everyone from invoices to making a trip everyday.

But that doesn't mean something better can't come up. People don't hate banks for the monolith but their monopoly like nature that had stifled innovation and displayed outright criminal behavior. Don't forget 2008 recession was triggered by banks. Recent libor scandal..

About the technology investments. I would argue against this. Banks are more regulatory and defend my turf play than a technology play. Have you ever worked for a bank or any finance facing institution. There's layers and layers of clutter. Whole party is one big monolith, sucking money from places that it doesn't deserve.

Biggest benefit banks provide as in traditional banks is the account and trust that, that money in the account will remain on the name of holder. That trust as well was breached multiple times during withdrawal limits and freezes.

We all need better alternative. May be FB won't be the one. May be bank themselves will become more open and lean. But someone needs to push. There's a lots of money to be made and quite frankly FB deserves it for trying.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#219

A cryptocurrency that violates one of the main tenants of cryptocurrencies. The fact is doesn't require a centralized authority. This is basically Twitch bits and shouldn't be classified as a cryptocurrency. As others have stated, probably the only reason to use one is because an existing blockchain can simply be used under a new brand.

Exactly. A blockchain that is fully controlled by one entity is just a database.

Re: Facebook plans cryptocurrency debut

#220

A cryptocurrency that violates one of the main tenants of cryptocurrencies. The fact is doesn't require a centralized authority. This is basically Twitch bits and shouldn't be classified as a cryptocurrency. As others have stated, probably the only reason to use one is because an existing blockchain can simply be used under a new brand.

Didn't Kik try and do something similar as well and came under fire from the SEC?

Kik's problem was they advertised it as an investment and promised large returns, but failed to register the ICO with the SEC.
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