It looks as if we are going to see the first steps of the Libra within a few months. It is expected that Facebook’s currency will finally see the light of day in January 2021.
That is not all the news on the ‚currency front‘. The European Central Bank (ECB) has been asked to keep up the pace in the development of the digital euro.
Buy 1 000 euros of Bitcoin without a commission? Get to work on Bitvavo
Libra from Facebook
The Financial Times reports today that the long-awaited stablecoin Libra is due to be rolled out in January 2021. It will be a dollar-denominated digital currency. Other types of stablecoins based on fiat currencies are expected to follow, according to three sources from the Libra Association.
The exact date of Libra’s launch is still unknown. It depends on when the Libra Association will receive approval from the Bitcoin Evolution regulatory authority, including the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
Regulation from the established traditional financial order threw a spanner in the works for Mark Zuckerberg’s project. The G7, among others, spoke out against the initiative. Because of the opposition of the regulations, several companies withdrew from the Libra Association.
Mark Zuckerberg even had to give answers to the American Congress. The launch sometime early 2021 is expected to be a ‚light‘ version of the Libra.
ECB-coin
Today there was also more news about the ‚digital euro‘. Olaf Scholz, the German Finance Minister, is keeping up the pressure on the European Central Bank. He says so:
„They have to work very hard to complete their plans for a digital euro and a digital payment network“.
Scholz told this in an online conference on the future of payments. It is not just Libra that is making the ECB hurry. China is already well advanced and Bitcoin’s narrative is getting stronger every day.
Potential dominance of one of these other currencies could be fatal to the position of the euro. Whether it is the digital yuan, the Libra, Bitcoin or the Central Bank Digital Euro, changes seem inevitable.
Competition
Scholz was supported by Fabio Panetta, an executive board member of the ECB. He indicates that all these developments are a danger to the euro system.
Although they could provide easy and efficient payment solutions, they are a threat to competition, privacy, financial stability and even monetary sovereignty.
He seems to be indirectly talking about the Libra here. It is not yet clear whether Tether, USDC and other centrally regulated stablecoins should really be concerned.
Bitcoin
In the midst of all this turmoil, Bitcoin has been working for all those who want it for over ten years. It works outside regulatory bodies and it does not need bureaucratic decision-making to reach a consensus. Rather, it is an anarchic system where each individual can decide to join the network.
In addition, at Bitcoin you have a number of guarantees with regard to the alternatives:
Bitcoin allows you to determine your own privacy level;
You don’t need approval to use it, unlike the permissioned alternatives;
Bitcoin works smoothly on an international level;
You have a guarantee on monetary policy, which is set in stone: up to BTC 21 million.
Do you want to have a say in the news? Come and join us in our Telegram chat!