The virtual currency "Libra" was announced by Facebook. So why does Facebook create its own "currency"? Why did you dare to set up an operating organization that you couldn't completely control? What are your partners and competitors thinking? And will Facebook dispel suspicions from all over the world? Read Facebook's ambitions and ambitions from various perspectives and interviews with stakeholders.
By the end of 2017, Facebook executive David Marcus, who was on vacation with his family on the beaches of the Dominican Republic, was worried about the problems he had been thinking about since he was the representative of PayPal. To know more about bitcoin trading you can visit Quantum AI. A frictionless global digital currency should benefit many mobile phones but cannot use banks. So is there more than Facebook with a worldwide reach and a vast user base to build it? Marcus, who was in charge of the Messenger app at the beginning of Libra, had felt like he had found the answer. So he emailed the boss that it was time to discuss Facebook's cryptocurrencies (cryptocurrencies, crypto-assets). He says he has a clear vision for realization, which sceptics can trust Facebook. Marcus then spent a few days coming up with ideas.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg immediately upheld Marcus' plan. Zuckerberg had been thinking about his currency for quite some time (remember “Facebook Credits"?) under the familiar theme of "providing services to the next 2 billion people" in developing countries. It is also explored ways to empower consumers (think of it as internet.org, which seeks to popularize digital currencies instead of broadband). In addition, competitors such as Apple, WeChat, and Google have entered international finance.
Facebook thus set about developing a cryptocurrency that Marcus calls "the most ambitious since Bitcoin." Marcus left Messenger a few months later and gathered a selection of Facebook engineers in the corner of the headquarters where he couldn't get in and out without a special badge. He also hired talented economists and policymakers, and eventually, a team of more than 100 people worked on developing a global currency using blockchain technology.
There are two challenges that the team has tackled. One is to develop something that can be used by people who cannot receive bank services. The other is to make it something that people are still convinced to use, even though Facebook developed it.
The result was “Libra," a cryptocurrency and payment infrastructure released on June 18th through a white paper. Its mission is "to be a simple international currency and infrastructure that empowers billions of people."
Libra starts as a new cryptocurrency that can be used for various payments. For example, it could be used as micropayments to fee-free remittances (as easy as sending an email). It will also be used for blockchain-based loans and insurance contracts. The value of a currency is linked to multiple trusted currency baskets. For example, one unit of Libra is about $ 1. In other words, Libra is just money, not speculative.
In addition, the value of Libra is secured by reserves. When a user exchanges a Libra for an existing currency, it is always stored in the underlying asset, Reserve, and retained until the user withdraws it. It is from here that Marcus narrowed down his wisdom. It's no wonder Facebook is being suspicious. Still, to avoid that suspicion, the company has made the technology open source and put blockchain control into a new, neutral organization called the Libra Association. I decided to entrust it. This system is the same as the Swiss digital currency system, and of course, the Libra Association will also be based in Switzerland.
The new organization comprises the founding members of up to 100 organizations, including Facebook. Each member contributes at least $ 10 million (about 1.1 billion yen) to fund the operation of the Libra Association. In return, the interest generated by the Reserve is received (Libra NGO members are exempt from paying contributions).
In addition to running nodes on the blockchain, each member is empowered to modify code and manage reserves (this method of restricting access is called "permitted blockchain"). "Facebook will be one of the directors, but it has no more rights or control. It's in the same position as the other members," said former Instagram product chief and now a top engineer for the Libra project Kevin Weil.