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Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

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Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#291

Post by karlmcguire »

IAmEveryone wrote: post #102
ianai wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wonder whether cryptocurrency would have been better received if it were named differently. From inception, I’ve only heard it pitched as a currency replacement. This immediately marred it with all of the currency “counterculture”/conspiracy theories. But it seems better suited as a way to trustless-ly track and verify transactions in an actual, traditional currency. That there are ultimately finite amounts…

It certainly didn’t help that the crypto community was choke-full of conspiracy theorists, libertarians that never read anything else after falling in love with Ayn Rand as teenagers, and get-rich-quick schemers. The idea was fascinating, and Bitcoin has held up marvelously considering it was essentially a prototype with high barriers to change after becoming popular. There’s a Nobel Prize waiting if the rightful own…

> It certainly didn’t help that the crypto community was choke-full of conspiracy theorists, libertarians that never read anything else after falling in love with Ayn Rand as teenagers, and get-rich-quick schemers.

I agree. Because of the nature of cryptocurrency, the industry has always just been wrought with fraud.

It has something to do with Telegram chats, the "wild west" feeling, semi-anonymous currency transactions, and the feeling most people have that there is (or was) a real possibility that they could gamble and win big with little effort.

The entire industry can almost be seen as a giant, anonymous slot machine.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#292

Post by WarDores »

Juliate wrote: post #276
mmsimanga wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From where I am standing I wonder if this is not reflection of the ineffectiveness of governments. In my part of the world there is a lot more talk about devolution, basically self governance of the different regions. Everyone is sick and tired of decisions being made from the capital city by people who do not have your interests at all.

Then what about decisions from corporations who do not even consider you as a person, or a citizen, but as a consumer?

It seems more and more that the government treats us like a consumer. Both parties trying to deliver more and more "value" for the currency that matters to them: votes.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#294

Post by colpabar »

viscanti wrote: post #287
yumraj wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is even more terrifying is that this is being done by Facebook which has a person like Mark Zuckerberg, who has again and again shown that he has no moral compass and has complete disregard for people privacy rights and by extension other rights, as its dictator, with no real board oversight due to how stocks are structured.

> this is being done by Facebook which has a person like Mark Zuckerberg, who has again and again shown that he has no moral compass and has complete disregard for people privacy rights Sure. But think about all the money they can make from selling ads if they know everything that people buy. Doesn't he have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value?

You forgot the `/s`.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#295

Post by sp332 »

ionised wrote: post #289
DenisM wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We've all seen in the past on how well "financial oversight" worked It worked remarkably well - no consumer lost their deposits to a bank failure. The fact that banks lent out too much money had no impact on consumer deposits, thanks to oversight.

> The fact that banks lent out too much money had no impact on consumer deposits, thanks to oversight. I like how you're trying to make like the financial crash was no big deal because this 'oversight' worked in this narrow context. I wonder if you'd claim that the banks lending out too much money didn't have absolutely catastrophic effects on the economy in general and by association, millions of people's livelihood…

That sounds like an argument for more regulation, not less. If there were less regulation, all that stuff would have happened and depositors would have lost their money.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#296

Post by shiado »

So if cryptocurrency is taxed on capital gains, and this is a stablecoin, can they buy their own currency in whatever tax haven they are storing money in now with money they want to repatriate to the USA, then sell the coin in the USA and pay no taxes because it is a stablecoin to they didn't actually have any gains? And they do all this while controlling the cryptocurrency itself?

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#297

Post by mwest217 »

I feel like the biggest losers here are open consensus-based cryptocurrencies like [Stellar](https://stellar.org) and [Ripple](https://ripple.com). Libra seems to have the same niche: a consensus-based blockchain protocol rather than proof of work. I fear that having the clout of a bunch of tech companies behind it will get consumer buy-in much faster than Stellar will (with IBM World Wire).

A stablecoin backed by a consortium of large companies is an interesting design choice; it's more intuitive for consumers, but seems like it opens itself up to arbitrage, taking advantage in price differences between the different currencies the crypto is pinned to. I much prefer Stellar's decentralized exchange, where tokens can be issued by any user and exchanges from one token type to another happen transparently via people advertising exchange rates.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#298

Post by cjslep »

elliekelly wrote: post #235
gridlockd wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bunch of nonsense. Actual banks are corporations like Facebook and they're far scarier .

Our banking system certainly leaves a lot to be desired but I’d take Bank of America over Facebook pretending to be a bank 100% of the time. And I have never said a nice thing about BoA in my life. What’s scarier to me is that Facebook is deliberately and admittedly targeting the unbanked - the people most in need of a bank but also the people most at risk of being taken advantage of. I’m afraid this will be the sili…

It's a whole new avenue for predatory lending practices such as payday loans, too.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#299

Post by loblollyboy »

LambdaComplex wrote: post #275
Yizahi wrote: post #209

Step 1 - say that your "coin" is not centralized Step 2 - proceed to contradict yourself in the next sentence How the hell is a an obviously centralized system with 3 dozens of privileged entities is not centralized... Also it is not only oligarchy, but completely unaccountable shady oligarchy. Why people continue to "want" it is beyond understanding.

Well, they don't actually say it's "not centralized." They say it "will not be issued by a central party," which it won't--it will be issued by 28 central parties.

The Cryptoviet Union
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