By CCN Markets: When it comes to what’s gone wrong with Big Tech, the only surprise you would expect is if Facebook was missing from the list. From data privacy violations to aiding genocide to enhancing the spread of fake news, the social media giant has become a global ignominy.
But for Facebook, those are trivial inconveniences, and the social media giant is now eyeing the financial services niche. The $0.5 trillion company has already confirmed plans to launch a cryptocurrency known as Libra and has reportedly invited Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Uber to invest $10 million each in the effort.
Unfortunately, the reaction from a section of the crypto community has been to sneer at the effort.
But truth be told, Facebook has identified an unfulfilled need – a fast, easy-to-use, low-cost cross-border payments system that’s universally acceptable to regulators. Facebook understands that banks fail on this due to the high fees and the slow speeds. It also understands that currently, crypto might not be universally palatable to regulators alongside other shortcomings of course.
Zuck Eyeing the Whole World
To solve regulatory hurdles, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has held meetings with central bankers, government officials, and other regulators around the world. And just as Zuckerberg identified MySpace’s weak points before dominating social media, he is doing the same with cryptocurrency. And with the partnerships that have been revealed, he is now assembling the arsenal.
While there are properties of true cryptocurrencies that Facebook’s digital currency does not threaten, such as the store-of-value proposition, anonymity, and deflationary features, it is a threat to crypto with regard to the one feature that’s a promising route to mass adoption – a fast, cheap medium for digital transactions.