Lately, there is a big buzz and fuzz on the introduction of the new cryptocurrency (some called it as fake) called as Libra which is under the leadership and influence of the people behind the Facebook social media conglomerate. What resembled like a circus, politicians and other known personalities expressed apprehension that what Libra can bring will put the global financial and economic system under jeopardy and control of a select few men which I assumed the public don't trust.
But I am wondering...is Libra really that potent that it can disrupt the currency financial system or are these people just imagining things which will never happen anyway? Are we ascribing power and influence on Mark Zuckerberg that can turn out to be a dud later?
No one knows for sure how Libra is going to impact the world's financial systems but I think if Facebook manages to go through current regulation hurdles they could surely put a dent in our monetary system. Libra might not be able to compete against the more established US dollar or BTC which has more unique and superior features to its name, Libra might find a more conducive environment in emerging economies and developing countries.
Take a country like India for example, it desperately needs a more efficient vehicle to move diaspora remittances — given that nearly 200 million people use WhatsApp (According to the Digital Information Report
https://urlzs.com/cPXDY). The Asian country’s market for diaspora remittances is one of the biggest in the world, with the World Bank estimating that about 80 million United States dollars were remitted to the country in 2018 alone. Information on hand paints Libra coin as a viable vehicle that is going to ensure that digital banking services reach the unbanked parts of the world.
I think it would be naive to undervalue the impact and traction that Facebook has in developing and emerging economies, I think Facebook Libra is going to piggyback on this traction. While most first-world markets around the world lean on messaging services like Apple’s iMessage for communication, the high-end smartphones on which such apps run on are priced out of many third world markets. Instead, the more generic apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger can run on various entry-level smartphones, some of which cost under one hundred dollars and allow for cheap and effective communication.
In most African countries innovative Mobile Network Operators have been coming up with internet connectivity products tailor-made for social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook bundles that offer exclusive access to these platforms at cheaper rates.
There are some countries where people actually believe that Facebook is the internet!
Facebook seems to have been studying towards answering the, how to serve the unbanked world population question, as Libra coin is leaned towards serving the ‘forgotten ones’ — remember when Mark Zuckerberg made a surprise visit to Nairobi to learn about mobile money?
Now with Facebook having announced that to store and exchange Libra, you’ll need to use a “wallet”; a service that will be integrated into existing apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger & Instagram. Adoption and scaling in developing countries is likely to be a breeze as most people are more familiar with how to navigate around these apps.
Just my thoughts