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Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

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Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#131
While I agree with most commenters here that are skeptical about a surveillance-based currency, I'm very positive about the idea of having mainstream apps such as Whatsapp and Messenger introduce the concept of paying with your phone without needing to link your accounts with any bank account or debit/credit card, because the money is in theory being held by your device (under the hood, just holding a private key of a "blockchain" account that has a non-decentralized-stablecoin balance, I know).

This will enable people to start thinking of money in a more pseudo-P2P way, get comfortable with it, and in turn allow them to start understanding better what cryptocurrencies really are (which Libra is not). What cryptocurrency and Libra share is, at least, the concept of ownership via public/private key cryptography, as opposed to identity-based systems such as paypal/banks/credit/debit. This has some UX-side-effects that people will start to learn, such as the push vs pull system (e.g. it's not anymore the merchant who scans your QR code, but the other way around, the customer scans the merchant's payment-info).

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#132
A basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities will be held in the Libra Reserve for every Libra that is created, building trust in its intrinsic value.

Soon 'The Libra Reserve' will hold only a 10th of the total Libra Coins in circulation (fractional reserve). A global federal reserve in the making.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#133
post #120

Moving in the direction of an everything app, like WeChat? I was horrified at this news at first, but WeChat isn't too terrifying, and they're far more ubiquitous. I just hope the social network aspect of Facebook (and Instagram) continues to shrivel.

> WeChat isn't too terrifying

Finding out people use a proprietary chat app as a primary payment mechanism is indeed terrifying. Now on to a proprietary currency!

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#134
post #120

Moving in the direction of an everything app, like WeChat? I was horrified at this news at first, but WeChat isn't too terrifying, and they're far more ubiquitous. I just hope the social network aspect of Facebook (and Instagram) continues to shrivel.

WeChat is absolutely terrifying, ask poor Winnie the Pooh or the uighurs.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#135

I will answer the question that is always asked in every post regarding blockchains on HN: "Why blockchain? Can't this be done with a database?" Blockchains are databases. They are distributed, append-only, tamper-proof databases. You could call them that, or instead you could just say "blockchain" as that is what type of database the word blockchain has come to be understood as. The reason to use a blockchain rather…

One semi-related thing is automation. When i receive a forex payment to my bank(south africa) it has to go to some human controller etc. If i can transact 24/7 without human intervention thats a big plus

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#136
post #12

It says testnet only until early 2020. Coincidentally, Ethereum recently announced Ethereum 2.0 releasing in early 2020. I consider Libra Coin an effort to cash in on the cryptocurrency hype with a type of bank, before real cryptocurrencies can scale and become mainstream and therefore block such an effort. So I see it as a moral imperative for developers to try to kill the project. The fact that they are making it o…

Facebook had already banned advertising other cryptocurrencies in the run-up to this announcement (well, back in January 2018), so the effort to prevent other cryptocurrencies from scaling is well underway.

That's unfair, there was a lot of pressure on companies to protect users from scammy crypto ads during the big bubble of Bitcoin. I think many companies banned ads for shady sites and to imply they did it only to promote their own coin isn't fair.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#137
post #127
post #126

Interesting. I'm curious to see how it plays out. I can see it working if they make Libras look valuable in itself for their user base (eg. Being able to get Libras from other users for services or content and then being able to buy real things with it). Given it's not "real money" would you be exempt of most taxes?

Pretty sure barter is taxed as well. Otherwise you’d see people evading sales taxes by transacting in bitcoin a long time ago.

It even attracts VAT, yes

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#138

When I consider that 1) all transactions must pass through validators 2) which are hand picked 3) by the worlds largest surveillance machine 4) that knows most everything there is to know about me already, I'm thinking I'll take a pass on this one.

You'll take a pass but the majority of the people won't so most likely you'll end up using it.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#139

When I consider that 1) all transactions must pass through validators 2) which are hand picked 3) by the worlds largest surveillance machine 4) that knows most everything there is to know about me already, I'm thinking I'll take a pass on this one.

You'll take a pass but the majority of the people won't so most likely you'll end up using it.

The average civilian associates cryptocurrencies with high profile thefts and dark web drug dealers because that's what makes it into the mainstream media. At best this will panic the big payment processors into making traditional payment options cheaper and easier, further undermining what little reason this has for existing.

Re: Facebook reveals its cryptocurrency Libra

#140

I will answer the question that is always asked in every post regarding blockchains on HN: "Why blockchain? Can't this be done with a database?" Blockchains are databases. They are distributed, append-only, tamper-proof databases. You could call them that, or instead you could just say "blockchain" as that is what type of database the word blockchain has come to be understood as. The reason to use a blockchain rather…

I believe only facebook and few others will have access to the blockchain(i.e transaction history etc) so it really brings nothing to the user/clients or developers outside of libra association
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