We are seeing various rumours about Facebook’s cryptocurrency for quite some time now. Finally, Facebook made its cryptocurrency Libra official. Facebook also announced the Calibra wallet for the cryptocurrency.
Facebook allow their user to send money, buying and selling products on their platform for quite some time now. Now with the launch of Facebook’s own cryptocurrency, now they are encouraging the user to all this using Libra.
Libra is backed by some big names like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Spotify, Uber. Facebook will build wallet into Whatsapp and Messenger, and later it will be integrated into Instagram also. It wallet will also be available as a standalone app.
The currency and wallet will be launched in 2020. Libra will be powered by blockchain. But unlike other cryptos like Bitcoin, Libra is a stable coin. It is backed by real-world assets, meaning holders have “high degree of assurance” that they can convert coins into traditional currency based on an exchange rate.
Facebook thinks that Calibra will help those people for whom even the most basic financial services are inaccessible. Facebook mainly wants to target developing countries. “Almost half of the adults in the world don’t have an active bank account, and those numbers are worse in developing countries and even worse for women,” Facebook says.
Facebook says Calibra will let you send Libra to anyone with a smartphone at low to no cost. Eventually, extra services will be introduced, such as using it to pay bills, ordering food by scanning a code, and riding public transport without the need for cash or travel passes. The aim is for Libra to eventually be used to buy anything.
Calibra will require you sign up with a government-issued ID, and Facebook’s digital wallet will also provide fraud protection and a public commitment to never share your financial details or transaction history with the social network’s advertising divisions. Facebook said that they will keep Calibra data separate from social media data.
Facebook cryptocurrency Libra has big potentials to become successful. Facebook has almost 2.3 billion users worldwide. So it has already a bigger crowd to target. But of course, with Facebook’s recent reputation around people privacy, getting people to trust in Calibra/Libra might not be easy.
