According to a new survey, there is “substantial” public interested in Facebook’s Libra. The stablecoin has more brand recognition than Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple but still lags behind Bitcoin.
New research carried out by U.S. brokerage eToro says that the Libra has significant brand recognition, but is still far behind Bitcoin.
According to respondents, around 58% of American adults know about Bitcoin. The same group polled that around 16% know about Facebook’s Libra just one month after it was announced. Ethereum came in third with 12% recognizing it.
U.S. managing director of eToro, Guy Hirsch, said that “By introducing the concept to a new audience, libra could play a vital role in the evolution of decentralized and more democratized finance.” The Libra has the potential to lift the brand recognition of many leading cryptocurrencies in this still-emerging market.
However, it’s not all good news for the Libra. Around 54% of respondents expressed doubt that Facebook could be trusted to manage their personal data. Only 17% said they would be willing to trust Facebook with their money, indicating there is a serious gap in public trust. It’s still unclear how Facebook can best get around this difficulty.
Facebook’s Libra announcement last month has been met with significant opposition from major lawmakers and regulators. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a press conference recently that he was still “uncomfortable” with the idea. Last week, the Head of Libra’s wallet Calibra testified in the House and took hostile questions from lawmakers.
As of now, Facebook is more concerned with convincing regulators to allow the Libra to go forward. However, the social media giant might have more prescient problems after launching if the public is not willing to use its cryptocurrency. Still, as many analysts have noted, the launch of Libra will only work to further boost the entire cryptocurrency space, especially Bitcoin.
It remains to be seen whether Facebook will be able to pass through all the hoops to get the green-light from regulators. The cryptocurrency is slated for release sometime in 2020.
Do you believe Facebook’s Libra will be able to launch in 2020 despite pushback from lawmakers and regulators? Let us know your thoughts below.
