LIBRA IS A CRYPTOCURRENCY IN THE SAME WAY THAT A DOLL IS A BABY’

Facebook’s Libra Coin has been all over the news the past few months as more tech giants invest in the network. However, many people in the cryptocurrency community are skeptical about the new stable coin, saying that Libra doesn’t have the properties that made Bitcoin what it is today.

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ISSUES WITH CENTRALIZATION

As many people have pointed out since the announcement of Facebook’s Libra, this new coin has a large number of differences versus Bitcoin. The network is controlled by a set number of high powered companies, completely opposite Bitcoin’s decentralized nature thanks to Proof of Work mining. On the Libra network, transactions will be confirmed by those companies with the funds required to become validators. With this structure, it could become possible for those companies to censor your transactions.

Nick Szabo, one of the earliest Bitcoin developers and the man behind the concept of smart contracts, has spoken out on Twitter regarding Libra’s status as an honest to goodness cryptocurrency.

See tweet

Facebook refers to Libra as a cryptocurrency in its white paper, describing a blockchain-like structure secured by validator nodes. Companies like Visa, Uber, and Paypal have paid the $10M requirement to become validators on the network. However, this system is still centralized to the point where regulators could come in and shut everything down.

What do you think of Facebook’s Libra Coin? Do you think it will compete with decentralized crypto-currencies, or will it have its own market?