The amount of negative attention that Facebook has received since they announced their new Libra cryptocurrency earlier this year has been staggering. The social media giant is certainly not getting a lot of support from politicians around the world. Their skepticism about the project mainly focuses on the fact that potentially billions of Facebook users buying some Libra might help to cause currency values around the world to plummet. There is also the concern that Libra will be used for both tax evasion and money laundering. This has caused two of the wealthiest and most powerful countries on the planet to say that Libra will not be used there. Germany and France have said that Libra will not be welcome.
The leaders of Germany and France have also vowed to sway other members of the European Union to block Libra in their countries as well. Needless to say, this project is not going the way that Facebook hoped it would. Despite all of the pushback, the social network says that they are still going to stick with their original planned launch in 2020. The company feels that politicians around the world will be more receptive to Libra if they see that it is properly regulated.
Facebook has created a subsidiary called Calibra that will oversee everything that has to do with the Libra cryptocurrency. All of the user data that will be gathered and stored by Calibra will not be able to be obtained by any of the people who work for Facebook. The company feels that the sensitive nature of financial transactions needs to be kept separate from regular Facebook operations. The idea that Libra might help to destabilize the financial system of the entire planet is a very legitimate concern. Facebook has well over two billion users. Anything is possible if a majority of those people jump on board the Libra bandwagon.
If Libra is not used by many of the biggest European countries, that would severely diminish its reach. France and Germany are the only European countries that have been willing to go on record that they will block Libra. However, that could change between now and when Libra finally launches in 2020. Regulatory committees are not the only hurdle that Libra will need to get over. There is no telling how Facebook users will embrace Libra. Only time will tell if people around the world get behind it.
