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Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

wsj.com

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Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#191

Post by Nursie »

akdfd wrote: post #171
Nursie wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having a bank also means having security, reversibility and a whole host of other great things. Bitcoin cannot compete on this.

Cash can't do those things either. It would be relatively easy to have a regulated bitcoin bank that offers such services. Coinbase is heading that way.

Presumably that wouldn't fit with any of the demands of cryptocurrency enthusiasts though, being able to freeze your funds etc. Also I'm not sure how they would tackle reversing any fraud given that bitcoin is amazingly irreversible.

If cryptocurrency is, for you, a way to get away from the abusive dominance of banks, why would you use such a service?

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#192

Post by noitsnot »

randomsearch wrote: post #158

My speculative take: Facebook’s main product has likely peaked, in terms of users and advertising unit economics. The brand is tarnished, it’s not cool for younger people, its value proposition has been heavily eroded by short sighted decisions. Instagram is doing really well, but by its nature is no substitute for Facebook. It’s too specialised, too narrow a demographic, and doesn’t have the same appeal all round. I…

Regardless, the company attempts to move forward with technology, acquisitions, and revenue. Facebook payments, gift cards in stores, stickers, etc. I don't think Insta is anywhere near full ad or revenue optimization.

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#193

Post by SI_Rob »

sgt101 wrote: post #150

Is this a brutal, final, swing at the Winklevoss twins?

Heh. You know their Bitcoin exchange is called ... wait for it... Gemini, right?

They've wallpapered the DC Metro system with ads for it... calling it the first safe regulated Bitcoin exchange.

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#195

Post by runeks »

DonHopkins wrote: post #182
rattlesnakedave wrote: post #177

Finally! A cryptocurrency with the ethics of Uber, the censorship resistance of Paypal, and the centralization of Visa, all tied together under the proven privacy of Facebook. Just what I’ve been waiting for.

And the magnanimousity of Oracle. And the carbon footprint of cow farts. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/02/16/exp-gps-0217-ga...

> https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/02/16/exp-gps-0217-ga...

> Bill Gates explains how no one knows how to stop bovine flatulence, a major contributor to climate change.

I doubt we need to prevent cows from farting. As I understand it, all we need to do is stop killing naturally occurring methanotrophic[1] fungi[2] with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanotroph

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#197

Post by nradov »

runeks wrote: post #102

> It has been a decade since bitcoin was born, yet consumers hardly use it—or the hundreds of other cryptocurrencies—to pay for things. And why would they? Adding two extra steps to paying someone -- the buyer converting local currency to bitcoin, and then the seller converting bitcoin to local currency -- can never compete with just transferring local currency directly. Cryptocurrency was meant to be much more than…

There's no way to close the loop unless governments also agree to accept tax payments directly in cryptocurrency (not just a conversion). And that's never going to happen, at least not in any major industrialized country.

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#198

Post by DoreenMichele »

SI_Rob wrote: post #194

About the name - Libra IIRC the Winklevoss twins have a Bitcoin exchange called Gemini Surely a coincidence brb going all in on tokenized cults

IIRC the Winklevoss twins have a Bitcoin exchange called Gemini

Gemini = "sign of the twins" (And, according to Wikipedia, is Latin for "twins" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(constellation))

It's probably just narcissism in that case.

I'm guessing "Libra" in this case is probably a variation of Libre -- free -- rather than an astrological reference. But that's totally a guess and could be completely wrong.

If anyone actually knows why they named it Libra, I would love to hear the explanation. A quick search isn't turning up answers.

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#199

Post by matty22 »

runeks wrote: post #195
DonHopkins wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the magnanimousity of Oracle. And the carbon footprint of cow farts. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/02/16/exp-gps-0217-ga...

> https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/02/16/exp-gps-0217-ga... > Bill Gates explains how no one knows how to stop bovine flatulence, a major contributor to climate change. I doubt we need to prevent cows from farting. As I understand it, all we need to do is stop killing naturally occurring methanotrophic[1] fungi[2] with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanotroph [2] https…

Or have fewer cows in the first place by eating less meat.

Re: Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers

#200

Post by mountainofdeath »

So a cryptocurrency that is more currency than crypto? Again, back to the argument that the market is the same as in-game currency, store gift cards, Chuck-E-Cheese tokens, etc.

Let's be honest, most of the hype around cryptocurrency is for speculation and not as a legitimate means of exchange. Normal money works fine for means-of-exchange barring a few exceptions e.g. capital flight, money laundering, generally escaping regulation so the only value left is hype.

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