Two countries promise to block Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency | TECH(feed)

TOUGH WEEK FOR FACEBOOK--FIRST THE CONGRESSIONAL ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION THAT I TALKED ABOUT THE OTHER DAY, AND NOW TWO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE THREATENING TO BLOCK ITS CRYPTOCURRENCY ONCE IT ROLLS OUT NEXT YEAR.

CRYPTOCURRENCY ISN’T ALL ABOUT DARK WEB TRANSACTIONS AND CRAZY FLUCTUATING EXCHANGE RATES. MORE ENTERPRISES ARE EMBRACING BLOCKCHAIN, AND DIGITAL PAYMENT IS ONE OF MANY WAYS BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS, CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SECURE TECHNOLOGY. AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES, ESPECIALLY STABLE COINS LIKE FACEBOOK IS PROPOSING, HAVE A LOT OF PRACTICAL USE CASES. SENDING MONEY INTERNATIONALLY IS ONE BIG BENEFIT FACEBOOK IS HIGHLIGHTING WITH ITS LIBRA CURRENCY. BUT THOSE BENEFITS MAY NEVER REACH THE CITIZENS OF FRANCE AND GERMANY BECAUSE THOSE TWO NATIONS ARE PROMISING TO BLOCK LIBRA AND MAYBE EVEN CREATE THEIR OWN NATIONAL CRYPTOCURRENCIES.

NATIONS EXERCISING CAUTION OVER CRYPTOCURRENCY IS NOTHING NEW. AND THERE’S A FEW REASONS WHY GERMANY AND FRANCE MAY BE NERVOUS ABOUT LIBRA IN PARTICULAR. PUTTING ASIDE FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY VIOLATIONS OF THE PAST, A PRIVATE ENTITY CONTROLLING A WHOLE CURRENCY CAN CAUSE ECONOMIC CONCERN. BASICALLY--IT’S NOT IN A COUNTRY’S INTEREST TO INVITE IN A CURRENCY IT DOES NOT ISSUE AND REGULATE. AND BECAUSE LIBRA IS A STABLE COIN AND THEREFORE BACKED BY REAL MONEY, IT WOULD NEED TO HAVE A TON OF EUROS IN SITTING IN A RESERVE TO GIVE LIBRA VALUE. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ACROSS THE GLOBE ARE WORRIED THAT IF ENOUGH CITIZENS EMBRACE LIBRA, FACEBOOK COULD ESSENTIALLY BECOME A NATION’S CENTRAL BANKING AUTHORITY.

WE’RE STILL MONTHS--IF NOT MORE THAN A YEAR--AWAY FROM WHEN FACEBOOK PLANS TO ROLL OUT LIBRA AND ITS DIGITAL WALLET, CALIBRA, IN 2020. EXPECT TO HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT THE REGULATORY HURDLES IT’LL FACE. COUNTRIES WILL NOT ONLY HAVE TO DECIDE IF LIBRA IS PERMITTED FOR TRANSACTIONS, BUT HOW THEY WILL REGULATE SOMETHING THAT IS A RELATIVELY NEW TECHNOLOGY. ON TOP OF THAT, LIBRA COULD DISRUPT STATUS QUO FOR A LOT OF MONETARY POLICY. FACEBOOK MAINTAINS THAT IT WELCOMES REGULATORY APPROVAL AND OVERSIGHT. EXPECT FACEBOOK TO FIELD A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM GOVERNMENTS AND REGULATORY BODIES ACROSS THE GLOBE BEFORE LIBRA GAINS WIDESPREAD POPULARITY.

THANKS FOR WATCHING THIS EPISODE OF TECH FEED. IF YOU LIKED THIS VIDEO BE SURE TO GIVE IT A THUMBS UP AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL. AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO USE LIBRA ONCE IT EVENTUALLY ROLLS OUT. SEE YOU NEXT TIME.