Jun 28, 2019 09:00:00

What kind of thing is the new virtual currency 'Libra' of Facebook?

The new virtual currency ' Libra ', which Facebook aims to launch in 2020, is expected to be an international currency from the stage of being announced, not just a virtual currency. Based on the facts known at this stage, analyst

Ben Thompson, who has worked for Apple and Microsoft, commented on the question 'What is Libra?' And the future prospects of Libra. .

Libra | Digital Global Cryptocurrency Built on Secure Blockchain
https://libra.org/ja-JP/

Facebook, Libra, and the Long Game-Stratechery by Ben Thompson
https://stratechery.com/2019/facebook-libra-and-the-long-game/

What is the difference between Libra and other virtual currencies?
According to Thompson, Bitcoin and Libra, which are widely known as representative virtual currencies, are quite different and belong to different categories. Nature of Bitcoin is be close to the 'gold', but gold has a value for everyone around the world are considered to be 'worth the money', worth of Bitcoin to 'Bitcoin Is worthwhile, 'is kept by many thinking. Also, Bitcoin's greatest feature is ' blockchain dispersability ', and dispersability means that an unspecified number of users share a transaction record of 'who paid who and how much Bitcoin'. Because of this technology, Bitcoin maintains its privacy, making tampering almost impossible.

The following articles give a detailed explanation of Bitcoin.

A summary of what you need to know in order to fully understand the virtual currency 'Bitcoin'-GIGAZINE

On the other hand, Libra's transaction records are handled by 'only' companies that belong to the ' Libra Association '. 'Libra Association' means 'the market size is more than $ 1 billion (about 110 billion yen), or the cash flow by customers is more than $ 500 million (about 55 billion yen)', 'the annual user is more than 20 million,' 'Fortune A company that meets two or more of the three conditions of being recognized as a top 100 company in the industry by a third party organization such as

S & P , S & P, etc. is entitled to an incentive etc. of profit by Libra, ie a kind of You can join the company by investing at least $ 10 million (approximately ¥ 1.1 billion ) in Libra Investment Token (LiT), which is similar to stocks. Due to the severity of the conditions, it is inevitable that only large companies in each industry can join, and 28 companies, such as MasterCard, Visa, Uber, Lyft, eBay, Spotify, and others, have joined the Libra Association at the launch stage. You are Facebook plans to increase the number of member companies to 100 by the start of the 2020 service.

Libra itself is less secure because fewer companies belong to the Libra Association than a large number of unspecified users with Bitcoin. However, because it is far faster at trading speed than Bitcoin, Libra can be treated as a 'currency'. And the key point when talking about Libra is that 'Facebook has only the authority as a member of the Libra Association' . In other words, it is the Libra Association that essentially operates Libra, and Facebook is just one of them.

A financial service operated by a company like Libra is an electronic payment system 'WeChat Pay' operated by WeChat, a Chinese company. WeChat Pay allows for everything from withdrawal of utility charges to payment of a cup of coffee, but the content of the payment has been completely understood by WeChat, and the financial system operated by the company has privacy concerns. thing. However, Libra says that one company can not understand the user's payment information by using blockchain technology.

The ultimate form of data concentration What are the major problems facing WeChat apps? -GIGAZINE

◆ Will Libra spread widely?
According to Thompson, there are a number of obstacles that must be overcome whether Libra is truly 'fashionable'. First of all, at a very early stage where Libra-payable stores such as 'Libra member stores' have not yet appeared, Libra's usage is limited to ' inter-personal transactions '. Libra needs to beat these competitors, as there are '

Venmo ' operated by PayPal in the United States and ' LINE Pay ' in Japan etc. in the interpersonal transaction app. Thompson points out that Libra's benefits other than anonymity are that it is possible to use Libra with apps such as Facebook's 'Facebook Messenger' and 'WhatsApp'.

By anton

The next Libra competitor will be a ' credit card '. Mr. Thompson points out that 'There is no difference on the customer side between' Will pay with Libra 'and' Will pay with a credit card ', but' Uber and Spotify who have already entered the Libra Association are with Libra. In addition, it is expected that MasterCard and Visa, which have also entered the Libra Association, will make it easier for stores to adopt Libra using their credit card system.

In addition, Libra is intended not only to counter credit cards, but also to be used by 'people who do not have a credit card'. Libra will be available via the dedicated wallet app ' Calibra ' that is built into Facebook.

Facebook announces its own virtual currency 'Libra' & dedicated wallet app 'Calibra'-GIGAZINE

'The simplification of the user experience can make Libra users more likely than credit card users,' Thompson said of Calibra. If the store introduces Libra, it will be possible to prepare a simple payment method without getting credit card membership fees, and it will be possible to appeal to people who do not have a credit card, which will lead to the store's profit. The more people who use Libra, the more profitable it will be for stores, Libra Associations, and customers that introduce Libra payments.

The ultimate rival of Libra is the 'real currency' such as the US dollar, the euro, and the yen. While countries have been holding discussions on the handling of Libra, Thompson said Calibra meets the requirements of ' identification ' and ' anti-money laundering ' which banks are obligated to prevent crimes etc. And because of the blockchain principle, it is 'not something that can be easily regulated.'

It is not clear how Facebook who is Libra's leading figure will make a profit from Libra, but if Libra is put into operation, the economic scale will be too big, so it is easy to get some profit from it It is considered. 'Everyone is vigilant about what they do today in a' centralized 'enterprise outlet,' Thompson said, 'Libra may fail if the interests of Libra users are not really special.' I expect.

Thompson sums up Libra's future: 'The biggest factor for Libra to succeed is the size of the network that Facebook has, but the biggest factor for Libra to fail is the distrust that people have with Facebook.' I will comment, 'he said.