The latest rumor is that FB is going to use BSV in some capacity with their new cryptocurrency.
This is possible, but not likely. I believe it was fueled by Zuck’s sister Randi commenting on Craig Wright in 2018 and then reignited by former nChain CEO Jimmy Nguyen tweeting @ Randi this week.
I’m covering this because it’s not IMPOSSIBLE but it also raises several questions:
-What coin could handle that volume?
-Can a giant like FB reshape crypto?
-When does the rumor mill end?
The only public blockchain approaching capacity to handle FB levels of volume is BSV. For that reason I think people are running with the rumor. It simply doesn’t make sense on any other coin.
If FB launches a coin, based on BSV or not, they will immediately have over 1B potential users. I don’t think this guarantees success. It requires trust in FB. By design, you don’t have to trust Bitcoin. Advantage: Bitcoin.
BSV promises microtransactions for exchanging information. Bitcoin is honest money (known inflation schedule and coins created as rewards for Proof of Work).
Honest money can mean honest info. It won’t stop rumors and lies, but your clicks won’t be tracked across the Internet and your data sold to advertising bidders. Via microtransactions you take back your data and your privacy. This changes the incentives model. The Internet and information landscape won’t be the same.
Bitcoin being honest money is one of the reasons I think BSV will be the winner. It has laid out plans for this and more, much more. I will cover Paymail, the new identity system in BSV, this week.
In the meantime, I leave you with this quote.
Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
-Abraham Lincoln
This post originally appeared on Coinspeak.io
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Good reading, good to have you blogging here
Those who don’t read the paper (Zuckerburg tweets) are uninformed
Those who read the paper (Zuckerburg tweets) are misinformed
Mark Twain
(Legacy Research Group
June 11, 2019
Chris Lowe
Facebook is launching its own currency… It’s a way to burrow deeper into your financial life… In the mailbag: “Tell me one time the government ran an efficient program”…
Mark Zuckerberg is getting into the money game…
We first put this story on your radar back in March.
As we showed you, The Zuck isn’t happy with “only” running the world’s largest social network, Facebook.
He wants to run the world’s largest currency, too.
That’s why Facebook is gearing up to launch its own corporate version of a cryptocurrency.
Let’s call it FB Coin for now…
The company hasn’t released the official name yet. But this new digital currency will serve Facebook’s roughly 2.3 billion users.
As a result, FB Coin will become the world’s widest-reaching currency… almost overnight.
But as you’ll learn in today’s dispatch, it won’t unseat truly decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
In fact, as folks find out the downsides of letting Facebook further into their financial life… you can expect bitcoin to be a big winner.
So why am I (Chris) bringing this story back to your attention now?
FB Coin is coming soon…
Facebook confirmed it will use a “stablecoin” for its new currency.
That just means each unit of FB Coin will be backed by a basket of government-issued – or “fiat” – currencies held by an independent trust.
And news broke last month that Facebook is looking to partner with mainstream U.S. payments processors for its new currency.
It’s been in talks with Visa, Mastercard, and First Data about a potential partnership.
It’s a shrewd strategy…
That’s according to Jeff Brown, our tech expert here at Legacy Research.
Before joining us, Jeff worked for more than two decades as an executive in some of the hottest tech firms in Silicon Valley and in Asia.
And he reckons FB Coin will have instant widespread appeal. Here’s why…
The Visa and Mastercard news tells me that Facebook has the technology for FB Coin ready for prime time. It would not approach these large financial institutions otherwise.
And this reveals part of Facebook’s strategy for its new cryptocurrency… It wants users to buy and sell FB Coin through traditional payment channels, rather than being limited to the normal cryptocurrency on-ramps such as Coinbase or other popular crypto exchanges.
Facebook wants to make it so people can buy FB Coin as easily as possible. Jeff again…
When users want to sell, they can go through these financial institutions to get a deposit in their bank account or a credit on their credit card statement. This will also allow folks to spend their FB Coin with their credit cards.
That way, people won’t need to understand cryptocurrency technology or digital wallets. They can buy with their credit card… transact on Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp… and then cash out back to their bank account or, just simply, use a credit card.
This isn’t pie-in-the-sky thinking…
It’s the way things work today in the world’s No. 2 economy – China.
Payments and transfers from messaging apps in China totaled around $16.6 trillion last year, based on research from China’s central bank. That’s more than China’s GDP, which clocked in at $13.4 trillion last year.
And there’s no reason FB Coin couldn’t dominate payments in a similar way in the U.S. and elsewhere.
But Facebook’s master plan goes further than just launching its own currency… and giving its 2.3 billion users something they can use to transact with each other.
Facebook is also eyeing other financial services…
Zuckerberg’s firm just set up a financial technology (fintech) company in Switzerland. It’s called Libra Networks. And Jeff says it will drive Facebook’s digital currency plans…
Looking at Libra Networks, there are many layers to Facebook’s expansion strategy. It could launch a digital brokerage, like Robinhood’s popular commission-free platform.
It could get into financing by issuing small loans on its platform. Or it could get into identity management, which is one of the biggest issues facing the blockchain industry.
This is where Facebook’s plans get creepy…
One of the advantages of cryptocurrencies is that they allow for anonymous (or nearly anonymous) transactions.
That’s why they’re so popular among folks who value their financial privacy.
But that’s not how the feds see it. They claim the anonymity of cryptos makes them a useful tool for money launderers and other criminals.
So the feds aren’t going to let FB Coin facilitate anonymous transactions. They’re going to demand to know the identity of everyone spending or receiving the new currency.
And Facebook knows this. That’s why it will offer to verify the identity of its users. Here’s Jeff with more…
Facebook has more than 2 billion users. So, it’s in prime position to become an identity management network. Any company that needs to verify someone’s ID could do so through the Facebook network.
That means Facebook will also likely gain access to your most personal identity details. For instance, the company could scan your face on a daily basis to confirm your identity. It could keep your fingerprints on file. It could even maintain recordings of your voice.
It’s more personal data for the Facebook machine…
The Zuck wants you to believe his firm is run by a bunch of do-gooders who spend their days “connecting people.”
This story has convinced billions of people to trust him with the most intimate details of their lives. But as Daily Cut regulars know, Facebook is really the world’s most powerful for-profit surveillance company.
We don’t doubt Mark Zuckerberg gets up every morning with a mission. But it’s not to make the world a better place…
His mission is to vacuum up as much personal data on you… package it up… and sell it to folks who want to target you with advertising and political campaign messages.
So, although Facebook’s latest moves may be good news for its shareholders, it’s a red flag if you value your privacy.
The Zuck is the last person on Earth you want to invite further into your personal life.
And that’s not the only reason you should give FB Coin a wide berth…
FB Coin is also different from bitcoin and other decentralized cryptocurrencies… in a catastrophic way.
That’s the message from our digital currency pioneer, Marco Wutzer. He heads up our Disruptive Profits advisory, which is all about profiting from the buildout of the crypto economy.
As he put it…
The supply of new bitcoins is fixed by a “protocol” – or set of pre-agreed rules – that governs the network. And there are no middlemen. It’s a true decentralized currency. Nobody is in charge.
FB Coin is the same as any fiat currency. The issuer controls the supply… and with it the value of the coins. Facebook can still block and restrict transactions any way it wants. So its coin is no threat to bitcoin or any other truly decentralized currency.
That’s why FB Coin could spark the next stampede into bitcoin…
Marco isn’t the only one who believes FB Coin can’t truly compete with bitcoin.
As world-renowned crypto investor Teeka Tiwari has been telling his readers, FB Coin is in fact a boon for bitcoin…
I’ve been saying that 2019 would be the year of Wall Street greed. And my thesis is playing out with these big institutions entering the space…
Facebook isn’t the only major corporation that’s launching its own “cryptocurrency.” JPMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in the U.S., now has its own currency, JPM Coin, that it can use to settle transactions between clients.
As more people get exposed to crypto-like assets and functionality, they’ll start to grasp how much more powerful bitcoin and other truly decentralized cryptos are compared to a corporate currency.
In other words, the fact that this technology is getting co-opted by some of the biggest players in Silicon Valley is very positive for crypto.
So if you haven’t already bought some bitcoin, now is a good time. Just remember, the crypto market is highly speculative. So never risk money you can’t afford to lose.
I will admit, I’ve enjoyed a little success with crypto recently, but there is an underlying anxiety that I can’t seem to shake. The Bank of England, US Banks, Rome, the Federal Reserve, and any other major banks associated with Liberal Democracies all have a very keen interest in currencies. While they probably enjoy the entertainment, ultimately things will be aligned in some way, shape, or form as they see fit. Predicting how that will play out is way outside my skill sets.