Facebook to launch stablecoin-based payment network
Facebook to Launch Project Libra
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Facebook is set to finally foray into the blockchain industry with the launch of a stablecoin-based payment network known as Project Libra.
Project Libra can easily become the most mainstream application of blockchain technology due to the size of Facebook and the global patronage it receives.
The blockchain project has been in the works for a while as Bloomberg and the New York Times covered Facebook’s plans in December 2018 and February 2019 respectively. Facebook’s hiring of several blockchain and financial services experts in the past year also revealed that a blockchain project was most likely in the offing. The recruitment of former Paypal president David Marcus is an example.
Project Libra will have at its core, a stablecoin tied to the value of a fiat currency. According to the Journal report, the choice of a stablecoin was made to avoid the volatility associated with cryptocurrencies while doing away with credit card merchant transactions.
Facebook is reportedly raising a $1-billion collateral from selected firms in the e-commerce industry to back the proposed stablecoin. This is said to be targeted at making the stablecoin less centralized. Facebook seeks to collaborate with firms such as VISA, Mastercard and First Data on the project.
Imitating Brave’s Basic Attention Token
Facebook aims to create an incentive system with its proposed stablecoin. According to the Journal report, users will be rewarded for viewing ads and for patronizing the goods of merchants. This is similar to the Brave project’s system of rewarding both content users and creators for viewing and creating content. The blockchain project behind the Brave browser surpassed over 5.5 million active users and featured over 28,000 verified publishers on 5th January 2019.
The progress on Brave appears to be indicative of the future of online media platforms. Hence, Project Libra may be an attempt by Facebook to remain relevant and a leader in the industry.
Interestingly, some sections of the cryptocurrency community have not been enthused by the possibility of a stablecoin created by Facebook. Reddit user billtae summed up such sentiments in the following comment:
Jp coin now and FB coin soon an Apple Coin. Still nobody beats bitcoin, the truest decentralized crypto ever invented. All others are just shitcoins masquerading as the next big thing. Keep on dreaming lol.
This notwithstanding, the impact of the Libra Project on blockchain adoption cannot be overstated.
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Crypto Insiderhttp://bit.ly/2FUbkJa May 3, 2019 at 08:07PM @BruceDayne, @Elikem Attah
