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Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

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Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#301
post #200

Terrifying, really. The world is hurdling back towards a feudalist society, with corporations instead of kings.

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.

It's not hard to make the case that today's governments are tired and slipping and in need of reform. But there's no such thing as the libertarian fantasy of "lack" of governance. Human nature dictates that if there's a power vacuum, it will be filled. If it isn't filled carefully with a system designed to serve the people, it'll be filled by whoever can take it for themselves. And whether that's a feudal lord or Mark Zuckerberg, it will be worse than the alternative.

It's nothing short of a miracle that for the past 150-200 years, we've managed to fill much of the world's power space with a system that roughly serves the people (with lots of flaws, but nevertheless). Let's hope it isn't just an anomaly.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#302
post #233

If this succeeds, it will be a data collection tool the likes of which the world has never seen, which is why so many companies are willing to put their name on it. The data, along with ML/AI, and our contemporary understanding of the human mind, means that this is a major step towards control that we can't understand. Dr. Harari explains it better than I do in "21 Lessons for the 21st Century", but this tool is part…

There is at least this from Zuckerberg's announcement : "Calibra will be regulated like other payment service providers. Any information you share with Calibra will be kept separate from information you share on Facebook."

Facebook having 2 operational databases instead of 1 still fails to inspire confidence.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#303

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…

I was just thinking exactly that: this is a check-cashing "bank" that preys on the poor and disenfranchised especially.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#304

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?

I think you mistook my post as supporting Facebook. I am not supporting Facebook nor do I trust central governments. I ultimately think the Swiss model of governance where a lot of power is held in the region.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#306
post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There would be savings for cross border transactions. If governments aren’t going to support banking the poor, then why does it matter who does it?

It could definitely help a lot of unbanked people. But that seems to be a nice benefit rather than the core mission.

Yes, for unbanked people who, according to the Facebook FAQ, set up an account using a state-issued ID and jump through a bunch of other hoops that are the same you would need for a bank account.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#307
post #296

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?

They wouldn't need to pay taxes because the money to purchase the financial instrument (whether it's a stock or a cryptocurrency) should already have been taxed in the country where the buyer resides. And, at least in my country, you can't use a financial trade like that to get a tax deduction.

How would they afford to buy the cryptocurrency from the shell company in the first place?

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#308
post #200

Terrifying, really. The world is hurdling back towards a feudalist society, with corporations instead of kings.

Shouldn't Facebook be focusing on their previous project that promised to "connect the unconnected" (Internet.org / FreeBasics), rather than start another ambitious one "to bank the unbanked" ?

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#309
post #195

From the white paper: > "Libra’s mission is to enable a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people." They do this by issuing coins in exchange for fiat money, which is held by the reserve. > "Interest on the reserve assets will be used to cover the costs of the system, ensure low transaction fees, pay dividends to investors who provided capital to jumpstart the ecosystem [...…

There would be savings for cross border transactions. If governments aren’t going to support banking the poor, then why does it matter who does it?

[deleted]

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#310
> Facebook says its “stablecoin,” will empower billions and underpin a stunningly ambitious global economy, without selling your data.

I wonder how many millions of people were drinking their favorite beverage while reading this and spat it out on whatever/whoever was in front of them!

It’s astonishing that after all these years and all the scandals, they’re deluded enough to write such lines with a straight face. This might as well have appeared on The Onion.

> If we want this to succeed we can’t make it network of choice for criminal activity of any kind. - David Marcus

Good luck with that! This point doesn’t gel with the other point he makes about this being private and that Facebook’s social profiles and the financial wallets/accounts will not be commingled. I’d wager that the latter promise would be like WhatsApp saying during its acquisition that nothing would change and that WhatsApp data will not be used for ads. We know what happened to that within a few years.

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