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Libra, 2 Weeks In

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Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#51

Post by clarkmoody »

carlosdp wrote: post #37
r32a_ wrote: post #6

Let's call this for what it really is, they want to replace democracy with Corporatism. At least with a government backed currency we get a choice on who runs the government. Even though that power is constantly being eroded. The companies that run Libra however have 0 obligation to users of Libra but only to maximise profits for their shareholders. This is their plan: * Dedicate a lot of resources to spread the adop…

Bitcoin is not more decentralized than Libra today[1]. Libra has 28 members, going to 100. The top 11 bitcoin mining pools control 99% of the hashrate. [1] https://www.blockchain.com/pools

Pools are groups of miners. If the pool operator starts behaving badly, the constituent miners will point their hashpower elsewhere.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#52

Post by gexla »

> At the core, we believe that a network that helps move more cash transactions — where a lot of illicit activities happen — to a digital network that features regulated on and off ramps with proper know-your-customer (KYC) practices, combined with the ability for law enforcement and regulators to conduct their own analysis of on-chain activity, will be a big opportunity to increase the efficacy of financial crimes monitoring and enforcement.

I wonder how many people in the world can pass a KYC check right this moment.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#54

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

0xDEFC0DE wrote: post #31

>With Libra, anyone with a $40 smartphone and connectivity will have the ability to securely safeguard their assets, access the world economy, transact at a much lower cost, and over time access a whole range of financial services. Bad actors will lift old exploitative models into Libra's ecosystem: payday loans with huge interest rates, wallet services that force a deposit and allow you to overspend and charge fees…

Where does Libra claim it's transactions are non-reversible?

And by reversible I mean refundable.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#55

Post by skybrian »

0xDEFC0DE wrote: post #31

>With Libra, anyone with a $40 smartphone and connectivity will have the ability to securely safeguard their assets, access the world economy, transact at a much lower cost, and over time access a whole range of financial services. Bad actors will lift old exploitative models into Libra's ecosystem: payday loans with huge interest rates, wallet services that force a deposit and allow you to overspend and charge fees…

Wouldn't much of this also be true of other kinds of phone-based payment, such as M-Pesa?

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#56

Post by provolone »

mbesto wrote: post #30
whatshisface wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Fed isn't? It has more private board members than appointed board members, and some have argued that it has consistently prioritized the interests of the banks at the expense of encouraging leverage like cash is going out of style. This is closer to a battle between west coast elites and east coast elites than it is about the people versus the elites.

Even if it isn't fully apparent, the people can vote out a president that controls the Fed. There is no such option to the "100 member companies". Also, the Fed is US only...so there's that. The scary thing about Libra is that it truly has the potential for global-scale "boil the frog" ramifications.

Individuals can simply choose to not use Libra or FB.

Contrast this to abstaining from voting. There will still be a president and a Federal Reserve Bank regardless.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#57

Post by javert »

mbesto wrote: post #30
whatshisface wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Fed isn't? It has more private board members than appointed board members, and some have argued that it has consistently prioritized the interests of the banks at the expense of encouraging leverage like cash is going out of style. This is closer to a battle between west coast elites and east coast elites than it is about the people versus the elites.

Even if it isn't fully apparent, the people can vote out a president that controls the Fed. There is no such option to the "100 member companies". Also, the Fed is US only...so there's that. The scary thing about Libra is that it truly has the potential for global-scale "boil the frog" ramifications.

> Even if it isn't fully apparent, the people can vote out a president that controls the Fed.

The president of the United States does not control the Fed, if that's what you're saying. The current U.S. president is extremely unhappy with the current Fed chairman and has repeatedly demanded that the Fed alter its policies, to no avail.

> Also, the Fed is US only...so there's that

The U.S. dollar is pretty global.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#58

Post by hartator »

gexla wrote: post #52

> At the core, we believe that a network that helps move more cash transactions — where a lot of illicit activities happen — to a digital network that features regulated on and off ramps with proper know-your-customer (KYC) practices, combined with the ability for law enforcement and regulators to conduct their own analysis of on-chain activity, will be a big opportunity to increase the efficacy of financial crimes m…

Know your customer is BS. It's just an excuse to invade your privacy and ask you personal questions.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#59

Post by 0xDEFC0DE »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #54
0xDEFC0DE wrote: post #31

>With Libra, anyone with a $40 smartphone and connectivity will have the ability to securely safeguard their assets, access the world economy, transact at a much lower cost, and over time access a whole range of financial services. Bad actors will lift old exploitative models into Libra's ecosystem: payday loans with huge interest rates, wallet services that force a deposit and allow you to overspend and charge fees…

Where does Libra claim it's transactions are non-reversible? And by reversible I mean refundable .

That’s a blockchain thing. They can fork, but they aren’t going to do that if I lose $150 in Libra. If they can single reverse transactions, there’s really no point to it being a blockchain.

If it’s refundable then they are just paying for the crime itself out of their own pockets. They will still need a human layer to verify theft has occurred and it isn’t a fraudulent claim of theft where just I stole from myself.

Re: Libra, 2 Weeks In

#60

Post by shitgoose »

justapassenger wrote: post #41
hndamien wrote: post #3

Short of transaction speed and cost, there is so little that is appealing in this compared to Bitcoin, and it has all of the centralisation and compliance pitfalls that a neutral, free (liberty), decentralised money already avoids.

If Libra delivers, its value will be stable, which is a one of the most basic requirements for a currency. Bitcoin failed spectacularly at that.

well, libra has to get to where bitcoin is now first, then we will see who failed.
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