The best thing about the digital currency announced by Facebook is not the BTF consensus algorithm, nor the account-based data model or the Merkle single tree structure. No, the greatest thing in Libra is the reaction of politicians and bankers, who feel the carpet burst from under their feet, threatening their hegemony and destroying their worldview.
Here are eight memorable quotes from angry officials.
"High technology in finance: opportunities and risks", the report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS):
“Regulators should ensure equal playing conditions between high technologies and banks, given the wide client base of high technologies, access to information and a wide range of business models”
Maxine Waters, chairman of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee:
“It's very much so that“ Facebook ”stops right now what they are doing so that we can deal with it. We must protect our customers. We simply cannot allow them to go to Switzerland with all their partners and begin to compete with the dollar. ”
Head of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Philip Lowe:
“Cryptocurrencies do not“ shoot ”in Australia because we already have a very, very effective electronic payment system that allows any of us to make bank payments to another person … There are many regulatory issues that need to be resolved, and [on Facebook] should make sure that they have a solid business case "
US Senator Sherrod Brown:
“Facebook has become too large and too powerful; it has used this power to collect user data without protecting their privacy. We cannot allow Facebook to launch a new risky cryptocurrency from a Swiss bank account without proper regulation. ”
US Senator Elizabeth Warren:
“Facebook has too much power and a terrible track record when it comes to protecting our personal information. We need to hold them accountable, and not give them the opportunity to access even more user data. ”
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Mare:
“There can be no question that Libra can become a sovereign currency. This can not and should not be "
Markus Ferber, German Member of European Parliament:
"Multinational corporations, such as Facebook, should not be allowed to work in the regulatory field when launching virtual currencies"
Felix Hufeld, President of the Federal Financial Supervision Authority of Germany (BaFin):
“Of course, we cannot simply observe [the development of Libra]. In any case, we will have to react accordingly. ”
Some criticism of Project Libra is bordered by hysteria, but in other cases it is completely justified. Facebook’s proposed digital currency may succeed, and may even fail before it has a chance to flourish. Regardless of the outcome, the revolution that Bitcoin started was no longer unstoppable.
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