Will Facebook’s cryptocurrency threaten the status of Bitcoin? Read expert opinions
Facebook, one of the most valuable companies in the world, has decided to engage in the field of digital currencies. It is now preparing its own cryptocurrency. However, Bitcoin is still the standard for all virtual coins due to its permanent status as the pioneer of cryptocurrency markets. Will Facebook’s Libra project endanger its dominant position? Leaders of the cryptocurrency world have posted their forecasts on twitter. They point out that Libra and Bitcoin are fundamentally different.
Andreas Antonopoulos, one of the most respected cryptocurrency promoters gave his perspective in a tweet:
“Libra will compete with both commercial and central banks. It will be fun to watch. On the contrary, it cannot compete with an open, public, global, neutral, and uncensored blockchain.”
On the other hand, Pavol Rusnák, the CTO of Satoshi Labs, declared himself a big fan of Facebook’s project. “Libra’s programming documentation is great. It has the potential to replace Ripple, Stellar, Ethereum, and all of the so-called stable coins (cryptocurrencies tightly linked to the exchange rate of one of the traditional currencies). For all other applications where a truly decentralized and uncensored transaction network is needed, there will still be Bitcoin,” added Rusnák.
Studying Libra
The Libra programming documentation was also studied by economist Saifedan Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard. He called Facebook’s cryptocurrency “The only digital currency that matters apart from Bitcoin.” Libra can be massively successful, but like Antonopolous, Ammous also believes that Libra is not a competition for Bitcoin.
For billions of people, the ability to use a dollar-linked currency around the world is an infinitely better option than their national currencies. If Facebook’s project succeeds, it is likely to destroy most of the currencies of the Third World countries; or at least force them to tie their money tightly to the U.S. Dollar.
Saifedan Ammous
The economist Nouriel Roubini, who is known for being, among other things, a Bitcoin critic, is much more cynical about Facebook’s digital currency on cryptocurrency markets. He often calls the most widespread cryptocurrency fraud, and Libra presents no better picture in his eyes. “It will begin to operate as a private, centralized, and oligopolistic invite club,” Roubini described. You can read more about Nouriel Roubini here.
