Is Facebook’s Libra a Cyberpunk’s Nightmare?

“A few years ago the idea that a major corporation would release a cryptocurrency was laughable, much less a consortium of gigantic multinationals releasing one, including stalwarts of the old world financial system like Visa and MasterCard.

But it’s bigger than that. It’s a turning point in monetary history.”

Read Full Story by Daniel Jeffries.

Some excerpts below:

Eyes Wide Shut and Empire of Tomorrow

“Without a better UX, crypto won’t even get out of the gate…

If crypto projects want to gain real traction and compete with this mega-platform they need to wise up and build a real business model like what Facebook has done here.

It’s not enough to make money out of thin air if you have nowhere to spend it.

You need an interface, governance, money and things to buy and sell all rolled into one epic ecosystem.”

The Return of the Dutch East Indies Company

“The Association behind Libra has the money and clout to write and change laws. And when their Skynet platform boots up, that power will grow with each passing second as more and more fiat money flows into their coffers. Any country that stands in their way will face a flurry of lobbyists and NGOs that will punish regulators and rewrite laws in their favor or starve that government of brand new wealth while other countries flourish.

It’s cyberpunk come to life. Massive multinational corporations against the power of state.

And if cyberpunk tells us anything, it’s that corporations eventually win.”

The Sky Above the Port was the Color of TV Tuned to a Dead Channel

“And that brings us to one of the most interesting side effects of the Libra coin.

With a complete ecosystem and ability to drive rapid adoption across Facebook’s billions of users, it will be the first platform to really challenge the sovereignty of state sponsored money, the traditional banking system and the power of the state to print and distribute money.

Who’s not in the coalition is just as interesting as who’s in it.

No banks. Not one.”

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Is Facebook’s Libra a Cyberpunk’s Nightmare? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.