“Facebook Will Have No Special Rights or Privileges” Says Libra Co-Founder

Facebook’s Head of Blockchain, David Marcus, has come out to dispel rumors over Facebook ‘controlling’ the Libra network. “Facebook will only be one among over 100 members of the Libra Association by launch,” he told reporters. The bottom line, he says, is that “you won’t have to trust Facebook to get the benefit of Libra.”

Marcus is hoping to further underscore this focus on transparency by making sure the Libra wallet, called Calibra, is safe to use. Marcus is the Head of Calibra and takes the approach that financial data will and should be separate from one’s social media activity.

For him, the end goal is to bring banking services to much of the world where it currently is absent. “With Libra, anyone with a 40 dollar smartphone and connectivity will have the ability to securely safeguard their assets,” the Libra co-founder argues.

Facebook’s goal, however, is far larger than merely ‘facilitating’ a global payment network out of the goodness of its heart. It is disingenuous to say that Facebook is only a ‘participant’ in this network as well, given that all node operators have to pay Facebook $10M. Moreover, the Libra cryptocurrency will be a major source of revenue for Facebook; the company is betting that profits from Libra will eclipse Facebook’s current ad-based revenue model in just a few years.

So, despite Marcus’s comments, the idea behind Libra is neither transparent nor is it entirely safe. Facebook’s current controversies regarding its privacy should force us to also ask questions about its cryptocurrency venture. To argue that the Libra is an entirely separate entity to Facebook is outright false, regardless of how many members the Libra has in its association.

In the cryptocurrency world, people tend to be opposed to simply trusting centralized institutions. Despite Facebook claiming otherwise, Libra is still based on trusting the social media platform — and that should give us enough reason for pause.

Do you believe one needs to ‘trust’ Facebook to use the Libra? Let us know your thoughts below.