Source Introduction
Steem Blockchain was always believed by enthusiasts to be the new determinant of social media platforms, which will empower individuals by respecting their privacy, money and time. The Blockchain technology was a key to this Utopian world, where corporations do not have any control over regular people. I think this @acidyo's gif perfectly shows the general attitude among content creators on Steem.
Source Corporations noticed this threat and decided to play our game: Facebook announced that they will create a new cryptocurrency called Libra. It seems that Steem lost its advantage - despite the fact that this Blockchain works for over three years, Steem is out of Facebook's league if it comes to massive adoption. However, do we really have something to worry about?
What is Libra?
If you take a closer look at Libra, you will probably notice that it is different from the other projects we know from the Blockchain industry. What they are primarily trying to achieve is a global financial infrastructure that will enable people to perform convenient payments. They want sending money to be as easy as sending a photo and take no longer than a few seconds.
This is definitely a noteworthy application of Blockchain technology that would probably transform the global financial system. However, Libra seems to be completely centralized.
First of all, each coin will be backed by the actual assets, thus stabilizing the price over time. This is a reasonable decision, because if Libra had a speculative nature, like Bitcoin, it would be hard to use it as a casual mean of payment. Additionally, it would be stressful and obscure for the regular people (especially from the third world) if the price fluctuated.
Source As we can read on their website:
The actual assets will be a collection of low-volatility assets, including bank deposits and government securities in currencies from stable and reputable central banks
Libra seems to be completely contingent on governments, central banks and corporations. It completely denies the idea of Statoshi Nakamoto implemented in Bitcoin.
Is there a threat to Steem?
Facebook does not intend to empower individuals by rewarding content, but to create an infrastructure of simple, fast and secure payments. Steem offers exactly the same for three years already, but lacks one incredibly important thing: simplicity.
Content creators will surely not left Steem because of Libra. Many people on this platform even think that more people will get interested about Steem, but I doubt it. The longer I am on this platform, the more I think that it is way too complicated to be massively adopted. People will not take the risk of buying Steem without understanding it. The only benefit I can expect is a potential raise of Bitcoin price.
What is your opinion about Libra? Please share your view!