There is a very real possibility that Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project might never get off the ground. It has come under fire from many different people who are in positions of power. Facebook originally announced the project with a white paper earlier this year. Their goal was to have Libra up and running by some time in 2020. However, that is increasingly looking like a pipe dream. There are new obstacles placed in the path of Libra on a daily basis. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent testimony in front of congress did not exactly win many people over to the side of Libra.
Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony was largely viewed as a dud. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, there were not many new details revealed about Libra during the testimony. This was largely due to the poor questions that were posed to Zuckerberg. There was also the fact that Zuckerberg deflected many questions by using the excuse that Facebook and Libra are two separate entities. Therefore, he has no control over anything that Libra does. This frustrated the members of congress who were questioning him.
In a report by CNBC, major corporate backers pulling out of the Libra project certainly did not help matters. Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Stripe are some of the biggest companies in the world in terms of making payments. They had all agreed to be a part of Libra when Facebook first announced the project. However, all four of those companies have jumped ship recently because of concerns about the scrutiny that Libra is receiving. Some of the most powerful people in the country like Mark Cuban and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey have said that they are not fans of what Facebook is doing concerning Libra. What had seemed like a bold new venture with a lot of promise is turning into a public relations nightmare for Facebook.
Libra is not officially dead and buried yet. Facebook still believes that there is a chance the project can succeed. The purpose of Zuckerberg testifying in front of congress was to sway lawmakers into allowing Facebook to proceed with their plans. Zuckerberg made the argument that China is in the process of developing a new digital currency. If they release it before Libra, it would allow China to dominate the world in that area. Therefore, Zuckerberg is asking for the support of the U.S. government where Libra is concerned.
Dil Bole Oberoi
