My two satoshis on Facebook’s Libra

Back in 2018, Facebook banned all ads and promotions for blockchain and crypto companies across Facebook.com and Instagram. This week we learned that they have been quietly working away on their own cryptocurrency. So, over the last 18 months, Facebook has been actively preventing and stalling the competition. Such unethical conduct not completely unexpected from Facebook.

In the never-ending PR train-wreck, the utter disregard for users’ privacy came to light last year during the Congressional hearings when we learned the extent to which our data was being exploited. Then this year in separate revelations, again and again, we continue to learn that the passwords of hundreds of millions of users are stored in a readable format in internal data storages or are otherwise being exposed.

It seems that Facebook just can’t get security and privacy under control.

So, should a private corporation, that has already shown their utter disregard for users’ privacy and password security, be trusted with our wealth now?

This is, of course, a rhetorical question!

A day after the release of the Libra Whitepaper, the regulators and lawmakers around the world are already voicing concern and requesting Facebook to halt the launch until the matter of users’ privacy is addressed.

However, history has shown us that Zuckerberg is beyond the reach of the regulators. Would they finally be able to do something now that Facebook is taking on the financial system and the central bankers of the world?! Let us be clear here, Libra is not taking on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Libra is directly challenging the Central Bankers.

Only time will tell if Central Bankers have more teeth, but whatever Facebook is doing is not to be taken lightly, their user base across Messenger, Facebook.com and WhatsApp is 2.4 billion people worldwide, and the banks have done such a great job at alienating consumers, so now an average millennial trusts Facebook more than a banking institution.

Will Libra be good for the crypto industry in general? In the long-term, yes, I believe so. It will provide a new on-ramp for the individuals to enter the crypto space, however in the short term I believe it will confuse a lay(wo)man and instead of acquiring Bitcoin - a true open source, borderless, trustless, permissionless, censorship-resistant cryptocurrency, they will opt for Libra - a permissioned, censored, private corporations’ controlled digital currency.

It is definitely an interesting time to be alive, rockets are launching themselves, cars are driving themselves, private corporations are launching private digital currencies that have the potential to rival top national currencies.

I have never been more bullish on Bitcoin.Long Bitcoin, Short the Bankers.

Meet Irina:

Irina Heaver is a Dubai based entrepreneur who works on bringing legacy businesses into the 21st century by leveraging the Emerging Technology - AI, Blockchain & Crypto. With over 15 years of experience gained in-house (in senior leadership roles) and private practice (as a Partner in a law firm) she worked across the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, CIS countries, Europe and North America. Irina advised on over 500 billion USD worth of projects and transactions in the oil&gas, mining, construction, maritime and technology sectors.Irina consulted numerous blockchain and crypto enterprises located or operating in the MENA Region, as well as multiple Governments and Governmental organizations on regulatory policies surrounding such emerging technology as blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.She is a multilingual Australian qualified lawyer with a Master of Laws and Juris Doctor Degrees. Irina is also a certified blockchain expert and passionate about designing token economic models and logic for smart contracts.

Twitter handle: @IrinaHeaver