Facebook has been talking about this for a while, so it should come as no surprise for those paying attention. Today, we're able to read what Libra is all about.
Libra promises to be a stable token that will act as a sort of digital dollar. It will be seamlessly used within Facebook's applications, as well as many partnering companies, to make paying with your smart phone even easier than it is now.
According to their website, Libra is not going to peg its price to the US dollar. Instead, it will be backed by "assets (which) will be a collection of low-volatility assets, including bank deposits and government securities in currencies from stable and reputable central banks."
In other words, Libra is not an electronic US Dollar, but something else completely.
The company with the fifth largest market cap in the United States is creating a private currency to compete with the Federal Reserve.
You can read more about it on their website.
They've also got a list of partners that is a "who's who" of tech. Check out this partner list:
This is Silicon Valley's Ring of Sauron. I seems incredibly difficult to imagine this power is used wisely. Here are a few comments/questions I have that will guide how I follow this development:
Can Bitcoin and Ethereum adapt? Will Steem survive?
What can your favorite cryptocurrency offer that won't be done better and faster by the high powered teams of developers with Libra behind them?
I think that cryptocurrencies and blockchains that are most resistant to censorship will be in the best position to succeed. If Libra succeeds, there will still be a real need for privacy coins like Monero and ZCash. There will be a huge need for Decentralized Exchanges that allow peer to peer trading.
"Blockchains of blockchains" like Polkadot and Cosmos might do well, if they're willing and able to integrate Libra.
If Ethereum 2.0 releases on time (no pressure devs!), with scaling and privacy features, it could be a serious contender against Libra.
The biggest losers will be mid and low level smart contract platforms that are already racing to get ahead of Ethereum in a novel way. After the 2018 bear market, it's difficult to imagine developers will race to any of these platforms that will have to compete even harder for mindshare.
Probably the biggest battle Libra faces will not be against Ethereum, but against the Federal Reserve and the US Government. Get your popcorn.
Those are my predictions, and they'll live on the Steem blockchain so we can look back and laugh, cringe, or cry in a few years.
These are just my thoughts from reading Twitter and Reddit reactions today. What are your thoughts on Libra? Let me know in the comments below!
-Jeff