Discussing Libra has become peculiar in the news in recent times, starting from when rumors and speculations surrounding facebook's plans to launch a 'global coin'.Ā Last month, Facebook,Ā known for its social media networking platform, finallyĀ unveiled the Libra coinĀ and released itsĀ white paper. Keeping in mind Facebookās plagued credibility owing to political manipulation, fake accounts, and privacy in time past, a lot of rancor has been caused since the announcement was made. Consequently, many financial regulators have backlashed their project andĀ Ā U.S. lawmakers made a call to halt its developmentĀ because of concerns about them possibly mishandling user data. Added to that is that the Libra is gunning to be a part of an unregulated realm of cryptocurrency; for some, Facebook may be building a 'Central Bank' in the guise of their global currency.Ā Amid all the ongoing issues surrounding Libra,Ā the coin is however not functional or in use yet till its official launch.Ā
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TheĀ Libra coin falls under the umbrella of cryptocurrenciesĀ just likeĀ Bitcoin. For readers without foreknowledge of the crypto industry, Cryptocurrency is a type of digital or virtual currency that can already do almost as much as fiat money can. It exists via theĀ blockchain technologyĀ and cannot be seen physically. This technology being used is powered by a series of computers, which means it is not controlled by one central authority and therefore offers users more privacy.Ā According to popular news platform, The Guardian,Ā the Libra name comes directly fromĀ āthe basic Roman measurement of weightā. āThe abbreviation lb for pound is derived from Libra, and the Ā£ symbol originally comes from an ornate L in Libraā, the newspaper says.
Being that cryptos are built on blockchain technology, the value of a cryptocurrency depends on the type of blockchain it is built on amongst other factors. The recent launch of the Libra coin is definitely a part of Facebook's drive to expand beyond social networking since, in the past, the company had expressed plans to build a payment platform but didn't follow through at the time.
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How the Libra project is expected to work?
According to Facebook,Ā Libra is a global cryptocurrency that isĀ fully backed by the Libra Reserve, a collection of currencies and other assets used as collateral for every Libra that is created, building trust in its intrinsic value.Ā Like other cryptos, Libra will beĀ used for transactions like the transfer of money between users on the social media giantās messaging platforms. It is notable that Calibra operates independently from Facebook i.e. the Calibra company is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc.Ā
Also developed by Facebook isĀ the app to enable users of Libra, "CalibraĀ is designed for Libra, a new cryptocurrency that will make money work better for all of us." Calibra will be available as a standalone app in select stores and added to that Facebook says Calibra will be accessible directly from WhatsApp and Messenger apps "so you can send and receive money as easily as you message friends, family, and businesses."
The Guardian, explains thatĀ āthe encrypted technologyĀ used by bitcoin and other cryptocurrenciesā,Ā will enable the functionality of Libra. For this,Ā Facebook-createdĀ an open-source blockchain version;Ā the Libra Blockchain.Ā This blockchain is said to feature its own proof-of-stake protocol and it will be governed by the independent Libra Association tasked with evolving the ecosystem.Ā The Libra AssociationĀ has its members spanned across various geographical locations and diverse businesses, nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions. Already they have renowned brands on board the Libra project as founding members. The Libra Associationās group of almost 30Ā founding members includeĀ Andreessen Horowitz, eBay, Mercy Corps, Facebook, Uber, Women's World Banking, Mastercard, Stripe, Visa,Ā Lyft, PayPal, Spotify, Vodafone Group, Kiva, and more.
In the creation of the Libra Association and the Libra Blockchain, Facebook teams played a major role joined with the efforts of the other Founding Members. Facebook has noted that it will maintain a leadership role through 2019 but final decision-making authority rests with the association.Ā
How Beneficial will it be to users?
The Libra mission is quite an over-ambitious one but it hasn't stopped the social media giant.Ā Libra is purportedly created toĀ "reinvent money and transform the global economy so people everywhere can live better lives."Ā āThe goal of this new project ⦠is to build a financial ecosystem that can plug in and empower billions of people,ā Dante Disparte, head of policy and communications for the Libra Association said.
The BBC reported thatĀ Facebook says the virtual currency is aimed particularly atĀ the 1.7 billion people worldwide who areĀ unbankedĀ (adults who donāt have access to a bank account.) Most of these people include women in developing nations,Ā according to Facebook andĀ they want to offer financial services for as many as those and the world at large. āFor many people around the world, even basic financial services are still out of reach: almost half of the adults in the world donāt have an active bank account, and those numbers are worse in developing countries and even worse for women,ā Calibra (theĀ walletĀ app) wrote in company literature.
Upon the recent unveiling of Libra,Ā an official website was created as wellĀ and has become functional for users to start signing up in anticipation as well as displaying useful information about the initiative.Ā The website first affirms thatĀ the global coin is "For everyone".Ā The company has explained that theĀ CalibraĀ walletĀ appĀ that was created for LibraĀ will offer different payment avenuesĀ withĀ increasing capacity over time. Money can be transferred between people via the wallet and/or saved in Libra.Ā
"The first version of Calibra will support peer-to-peer payments and a few other ways to pay such as QR codes which small merchants can use to accept payments in Libra. Over time there will be many others including in-store payments, integrations into Point-of-Sale systems, and more. Calibra is designed for Libra, so when you send, spend, or save your money, you'll be using Libra. You can convert your local currency into Libra to add money to your wallet, and convert it back when you want to withdraw. When converting your local currency to or from Libra, the app will show you the exchange rate so you know exactly what you'll get." according to the website.
These moves,Ā offers, features and strategies from the Libra ProjectĀ are pretty much similar toĀ other popular crypto exchange activities. Crypto exchanges like Coinbase facilitate crypto transactions as Calibra would but Facebook is not exactly going to be running a crypto exchange. Some Facebook officials added that "Other wallet providers will be able to build products on the Libra protocol when the network launches in early 2020," painting the picture of Libra fostering altcoins at some point. So perhaps, Libra is intended to help make cryptos go mainstream and may become a modern 'central bank' spawned into the crypto space as some opinions have raised.
Their initiative is so far centered on one currency, Libra, which promises the following:
Facebook's Libra has not become functional as earlier noted, hence information surrounding the coin is based on official statements from the company as well as theĀ white paperĀ released. One cannot really tell if the "global coin" would deliver on promises or accomplish its mission of empowering users financially till it is up and running in 2020.
Here is infographic byĀ Mrbtc
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Credits- Zack Seward, Nikhilesh De,Ā Euro news,Ā Wikipedia.
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Discussing Libra has become peculiar in the news in recent times, starting from when rumors and speculations surrounding facebook's plans to launch a 'global coin'. Last month, Facebook, known for its social media
Written by Saira wo