Earlier this week Facebook Inc. disclosed the first details of its take on cryptocurrency; Libra. Breathing new life into the cryptocurrency hype-train and forcing companies to reconsider the validity of the the cryptocurrency market, Libra launches next year with the promise of protecting customer information.

Libra will be an alternative to Bitcoin and its many competitors in a market that many consider to be oversaturated. Facebook hopes to use its unique branding to differentiate Libra from the competition; opening the world of cryptocurrency to a much wider base. Those who use Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp will have access to Libra once it launches.

Don’t understand cryptocurrency? Watch this Clickhole video where a man will mumble an explanation at you.​

​

In all seriousness, accurately and fully explaining cryptocurrency falls outside the scope of this news piece. For those interested, I highly recommend this Investopedia article explaining Blockchain, the record-keeping technology behind cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Libra.

Source

 

[notimp]

As much as I dislike the perversion of cryptocurrency's main selling point, I must admit Facebook will most likely do a better job of making something actually usable, and not just overinflated imaginary money (which is what a lot of cryptocurrencies eventually turned into - even Bitcoin is a pain in the ass to pay with when it comes to basic things)

How dumb is this quote? 10/10 dumb.

Here is how this works. Crypto is not a UI problem. Crypto is not something only the big guy can do. Facebook will not be better at it from a safety or UI perspective.

But they will be better at it in two aspects.

1. Usability/convenience - because they will make ALL decisions and tradeoffs in terms of the safety/convenience concern leaning towards convenience. So it will be the worlds unsafest form of digital payment. But at the same time - with mastercard, visa and paypal on board - they dont care at all, because they will try to limit fraud with a data analytics approach (as banks and credit card companies do today), and dont care about safety. Which will make it convenient.

2. The spiky - bubbly nature of crypto currencies, is a factor of their "small scale size". If you have money - you can control one of the crypto currencies, you spike it up and down with consolidated purchases - you make more money from suckers. Just make it "huge enough" (which this is a play for) - and the problem is gone. Because now the business model for the stakeholders becomes, skim a percentage off of every purchase - WORLD SCALE. There is no better business model. All scams (better ROI percentage) are minute compared to that.


In effect this is a play that has nothing to do with "excellence in crypto or programming, or UI design". Its - replace trust in crypto with replace trust in the worlds biggest 25 financial companies. Married to a "you already have an account with us" (no barrier of entry) play with the worlds largest digital company. (Because formaly freeTM pictures of Grandchildren). Which coincidently is also the worlds biggest advertising company.

The future is facebook bucks. For all the wrong reasons. But idiots will love it.

Btw. I'm not a crypto nut myself - so I'm not trying to interest you in some *insert coin here*. But everything about this is transparent - and cynical as fuck.

And you sir/madame - are an idiot. But will probably be in the majority who will use this - when everyone starts using this.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Everyone that has ever heard me saying that people are dumb and out to be used, scamed and abused - they only react negatively if you abandon them too fast afterwards - in the politics forum -

- this is that logic, extrapolated to a million.

In your lifetime - there will be NOTHING, EVER, that will be more cynical, than what this thing is going to become.

 

[notimp]

I'm not exactly sure why yet - but I am absolutely sure - that this video NEEDs to be in this thread:

 

[tabzer]

Libra = libre = free/freedom.

Libra implies balance, but we know those scales are tipped.

 

[notimp]

Democracy now on the move - watch this, to get the other side of this issue - at scale. (Not at the "what does this mean for my smartphone" level where - lets face it ALL discussions on gbatemp are ever held and won, because thats how social media works.)

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/6/19/big_techs_war_for_your_wallet

 

[Foxi4]

Democracy now on the move - watch this, to get the other side of this issue - at scale. (Not at the "what does this mean for my smartphone" level where - lets face it ALL discussions on gbatemp are ever held and one, because thats how social media works.)

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/6/19/big_techs_war_for_your_wallet

"It will launch Libra next year in partnership with other large companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal (...)"

That's all I needed to hear. Hard pass.

 

[2Hack]

Maybe EA

I can say that I do trust EA more than Facebook. Just EA will pump out lotteries. I'd rather that, then FB selling my info to every company in existence.

 

[Haloman800]

Libra is not a crypto. It's not on blockchain & is simply pegged to the USD.

 

[FAST6191]

I hate cryptocurrencies.

Why? As a whole and for most of them in general they have some traits that make them rather useful things for a lot of people.

 

[notimp]

Why? As a whole and for most of them in general they have some traits that make them rather useful things for a lot of people.

Let me add "because they allow financial conglomerates - to try to act as nation states - or 'just' national banks" to the list from today onwards.

Because they propagate a medium of exchange of worth that you couldnt pay your taxes it. Because 80% of them are used exclusively for money laundering. Because their ease of use in transitioning borders can circumvent international financial laws in seconds, because they can increase inflationary economic crises by aiding capital flight - and because they are all fiat - or with fiat as a base line, thats based on some neckbeard proposing that his computer sucking power generates wealth.

Because Bitconneeeeeeeect. Because scamsters paradise. Because highly volatile in nature if not backed by multinationals.

Should I continue?

edit: Because high energy use and slowed down to a crawl transaction speeds (fluidity) with proof of work. Because of tradeoffs with other proofs. Because of the sheer HYPE that allowed another full generation of financial wizards to scam people into trusting them.

Should I continue?

Because of market cornering, because of the Winklevoss twins, because of Californias play of world leadership constituting around those very concepts.

Should I continue?

Because when facebook and visa and mastercard and paypal do theirs - they make sure to run it out of a shell corperation in switzerland.

 

[Reecey]

Our town was the first part of the UK to get a bitcoin machine, you know why? Bitcoin thought it was obviously a good business decision because it’s saturated with so many drug dealers!

 

[Dr.Hacknik]

I wonder if it sells your information for your own profit...


Is that.... Selling yourself... wait, that's bad; forget what I was saying.

 

[Pipistrele]

How dumb is this quote? 10/10 dumb.

Here is how this works. Crypto is not a UI problem. Crypto is not something only the big guy can do. Facebook will not be better at it from a safety or UI perspective.

But they will be better at it in two aspects.

1. Usability/convenience - because they will make ALL decisions and tradeoffs in terms of the safety/convenience concern leaning towards convenience. So it will be the worlds unsafest form of digital payment. But at the same time - with mastercard, visa and paypal on board - they dont care at all, because they will try to limit fraud with a data analytics approach (as banks and credit card companies do today), and dont care about safety. Which will make it convenient.

2. The spiky - bubbly nature of crypto currencies, is a factor of their "small scale size". If you have money - you can control one of the crypto currencies, you spike it up and down with consolidated purchases - you make more money from suckers. Just make it "huge enough" (which this is a play for) - and the problem is gone. Because now the business model for the stakeholders becomes, skim a percentage off of every purchase - WORLD SCALE. There is no better business model. All scams (better ROI percentage) are minute compared to that.


In effect this is a play that has nothing to do with "excellence in crypto or programming, or UI design". Its - replace trust in crypto with replace trust in the worlds biggest 25 financial companies. Married to a "you already have an account with us" (no barrier of entry) play with the worlds largest digital company. (Because formaly freeTM pictures of Grandchildren). Which coincidently is also the worlds biggest advertising company.

The future is facebook bucks. For all the wrong reasons. But idiots will love it.

Btw. I'm not a crypto nut myself - so I'm not trying to interest you in some *insert coin here*. But everything about this is transparent - and cynical as fuck.

And you sir/madame - are an idiot. But will probably be in the majority who will use this - when everyone starts using this.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Everyone that has ever heard me saying that people are dumb and out to be used, scamed and abused - they only react negatively if you abandon them too fast afterwards - in the politics forum -

- this is that logic, extrapolated to a million.

In your lifetime - there will be NOTHING, EVER, that will be more cynical, than what this thing is going to become.

I bet you're really popular at parties with that kind of attitude =)

 

[FAST6191]

Let me add "because they allow financial conglomerates - to try to act as nation states - or 'just' national banks" to the list from today onwards.

Because they propagate a medium of exchange of worth that you couldnt pay your taxes it. Because 80% of them are used exclusively for money laundering. Because their ease of use in transitioning borders can circumvent international financial laws in seconds, because they can increase inflationary economic crises by aiding capital flight - and because they are all fiat - or with fiat as a base line, thats based on some neckbeard proposing that his computer sucking power generates wealth.

Because Bitconneeeeeeeect. Because scamsters paradise. Because highly volatile in nature if not backed by multinationals.

Should I continue?

edit: Because high energy use and slowed down to a crawl transaction speeds (fluidity) with proof of work. Because of tradeoffs with other proofs. Because of the sheer HYPE that allowed another full generation of financial wizards to scam people into trusting them.

Should I continue?

Because of market cornering, because of the Winklevoss twins, because of Californias play of world leadership constituting around those very concepts.

Should I continue?

Because when facebook and visa and mastercard and paypal do theirs - they make sure to run it out of a shell corperation in switzerland.

I am not entirely sure what that is addressing of mine.

So I can't pay my taxes with it? I can't pay them with any number of financial instruments. I can't pay my taxes with equity on my mortgage either.

Money laundering? So are adverts, indeed getting it down to 80% would probably represent a stunning success in reducing percentage given over to laundry and yet people seem OK with those. Still can you find me a vaguely popular mode of commerce that is not used to launder money?

Financial laws?

On capital fight in crisis economies. Is this related to that haircut people were taking on bank deposits? I have no problem with people dodging that.

Information and computing would be the universal (literally) standard for work done, and there is also pretty solid cryptography on top of it all. Anyway as opposed to what? Some army somewhere? If the US can't even beat some dudes in sandals... Some kind of mixed economy* in a larger nation state? Something because it is shiny?

*though between general transactions, speculation, drugs, stolen goods, general goods sold for fun and other stuff besides this bitcoin lark probably represents a better mixed economy than some small island nations.

Transaction speeds getting slow is a fault of a given coin, not the thing as a whole and to dismiss them all as such would be tricky. Not to mention compared to the likes of SWIFT then even at its worst bitcoin is still better.

On scamming people. There are always bubbles and fads that lead to things being vastly overinflated. This I don't see as any different really.

I am not sure what the stuff about California and market cornering has to do with cryptocurrencies as a whole. Similarly I am not sure what Swiss shell companies have to do with things here, and by the way Luxembourg houses Paypal in Europe (it being considered something of a coup to even get that far -- they resisted being a bank at every stage they could it seems).

 

[Foxi4]

Because they propagate a medium of exchange of worth that you couldnt pay your taxes it. Because 80% of them are used exclusively for money laundering. Because their ease of use in transitioning borders can circumvent international financial laws in seconds, because they can increase inflationary economic crises by aiding capital flight - and because they are all fiat - or with fiat as a base line, thats based on some neckbeard proposing that his computer sucking power generates wealth.

Those all sound like positives to me.

 

[Doran754]

Bitconnect isn't relevant, It was blatantly a scam, they were offering interest rates that banks would get nowhere near. I feel sorry for the people that lost their money but common sense instead of greed would have prevented that. Libra quite clearly isn't a scam but I still won't be touching it, the only reason I still have facebook is because my chess.com and 8ballpool are linked to it, otherwise i'd have deactivated it a long time ago. (speaking of which, if anybody wants a beat down on 8ballpool hit me up, Ive got 18.5bn coins )

 

[LunarQueen626]

It's a pass from me, fam. There's little I trust less than Facebook.

 

[FAST6191]

Those all sound like positives to me.

Hmm. I suppose it is another thing that computers have rendered what previously took highly trained people a lot of effort to into the hands of mere mortals.

 

[notimp]

I am not entirely sure what that is addressing of mine.

Nothing really - I have no strongly held opinion there - these were just some contra points, I've listed from the top of my head. You can win this debate.

(The Facebook coalition, though... )

 

[OncRN]

Here's how it will likely end up:

 

[Foxi4]

Hmm. I suppose it is another thing that computers have rendered what previously took highly trained people a lot of effort to into the hands of mere mortals.

I'm totally fine with that, to be fair.