Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency: Libra

When the entire world had been speculating about Facebook’s next Big Move, on the 18th of June, Facebook co-founder, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced their plans to launch cryptocurrency Libra by 2020. Cryptocurrency is Gaining momentum globally as it continues to grow and also spark interest.

 

Amidst the chaos and skepticism about security and privacy breaches, Libra has emerged as a cryptocurrency that is here to stay. And, why not, it’s not as if it’s the first time Facebook is facing opposition yet flourished.

 

It is often believed that your critics are a confirmation that you are being noticed and also that you are doing something right. This article gives you a detailed insight into everything you need to know about and related to Libra.

 

What is Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency in simple words is a digital currency. A digital asset that utilizes encryption techniques for generating units of currency. It is not regulated by a central bank unlike the usual currency belonging to a country.

 

Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency

Libra is a proposed, permission, blockchain cryptocurrency announced by the American social media giant: Facebook. The idea behind introducing this cryptocurrency is said to empower billions of people as it would be a global currency with a strong financial infrastructure.

 

The factor that builds trust is the members who have come forth in association to bring this currency into use. Enlisted here are the names of companies that are renowned in their domain and provide complete support to this venture.

 

The Founding members among many others are:

 

• Mastercard
• PayPal
• Stripe
• Visa
• eBay
• Facebook
• Lyft
• Uber
• Spotify
• Andreessen Horowitz
• Vodafone Group
• Kiva
• Mercy Corps
• Women’s World Banking 
• Coinbase
• PayU

 

This Libra Association constitutes 28 members in total and is based in Switzerland. It has been claimed to be a 100-member association by the time of the launch of the network.

 

Libra Different From Other Cryptocurrencies

The part of Libra that distinguishes it from the previous cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and is much being talked about is the stability in value. Libra is going to be created with the complete intent of avoiding volatility and wild swings in its value which have been observed in other cases. Libra is going to be backed by a “Reserve Fund”. This makes it more reliable than its peers.

 

Calibra: Wallet

A cryptocurrency wallet holds public and private keys. These keys are the addresses that help in sending/receiving cryptocurrency. With a Private key, the user can spend the currency by writing in a public ledger. Whereas a Public key allows others to send currency to your wallet.

 

Libra is associated with Facebook, and that has raised most concerns related to privacy, cases of money laundering, etc. Calibra has been solely set up to provide a wallet to deal in Libra. Moreover, Facebook has made a promise to not combine the users’ financial transactions, status, or history of dealings with their social media accounts without permission. In this case, only Calibra will hold the records.

 

Worth of Libra

Facebook has partnered with big firms and raised a substantial amount of money that ensures whatever scenario may come, every user’s money is secure. That being said, The next question arises about the worth of a single “Libra Coin”.

The value of a single Libra coin is to be pegged as the average of U.S. Dollars, U.K. Pounds, Euros, and Swiss Francs.

 

Libra Work

A network of validator nodes operates the Libra blockchain. Its evolution will be monitored by the founding members. Each validator node will be dedicatedly run by one member. It is targeted that as the network grows to become more self-sustaining, it will gradually turn to a permissionless mode of operation.

 

Libra Cryptocurrency Release date

Well, the wait to try your hand at Libra Cryptocurrency is going to be a little longer as it is set to be launched sometime in 2020.

 

But, it may also be noted that as soon as it is launched, it is going to be available on Whatsapp as well as Facebook Messenger along with several platforms of its partners.

 

Future of Libra Coin Introduced by Facebook

If everything turns out exactly as planned and also claimed, Libra can take the world by storm in the financial sector.

 

The offer of money exchange across countries with zero fees is luring in itself. Other factors like time to transfer, Security, and Authentic identity are also taken care of. Libra is expected to be available at a single click, so, having something for payment throughout the world instantly, securely, and at a low cost seems quite advantageous.

 

Libra Bring in to Keep You Engaged

“Move” is the programming language for Libra. It is written in “Rust” language. Facebook has provided its users with some code that they can play with. This is another novel way in which Facebook is creating its engagement with the public.

 

In conclusion, some may speculate that Libra may emerge as a “sovereign currency” and Facebook the “Shadow Bank”, only time can tell whether we are ready for this digital change in the right sense. Let’s hope this is not another fiasco in the continually upgrading digitally propelled financial world.