Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Libra is the new cryptocurrency that Facebook plans to launch worldwide in 2020 that will enable its 2.4bn users worldwide to pay for goods and services or send money worldwide with no transaction fees.
Kevin Weil, vice-president of the proposed Facebook payment service, says the company hopes the new currency would last “hundreds of years”.
Why is Libra significant?
Libra will give Facebook the full picture of its users. The world’s biggest ad platform already know almost everything about you – who you are friendly with, where you go, what you like and what you think (at least publicly). However, although it knows which products get your attention so small businesses can sell to you, what you actually buy has been unknowable. Until now.
How does Libra work?
In truth, Libra is not really an unregulated cryptocurrency; it’s really a PayPal or a garden wall version of crypto pegged to a basket of fiat (government-backed) currencies and supported by some of the world’s biggest financial brands including Visa and Mastercard. Libra’s assets managed by an independent Swiss trust, the Libra Association, which Facebook would be just one voting member of.
Facebook sees Libra as an evolution of PayPal: simpler