- Regulators and US Congress members have criticized Facebook’s Libra.
- Libra shows that big tech companies and scientists can potentially take power away from banks and fiat currencies.
During an interview with author Ben Mezrich, CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin stated that governments around the world, including America, feel threatened by cryptocurrencies because it challenges their control over fiat currency. Sorkin said:
“You saw the reaction to Libra almost instantaneously in Washington – people saying okay, we’ve got to press the pause button on this. Governments have a monopoly on fiat currency. It’s one of the last things they have a monopoly and an ability to control things with. The idea that they’re going to let these other cryptocurrencies flourish, where people can send money completely unencumbered, completely untraceable, completely untaxable, seems to me at some point there’s going to be a fork in the road or a conversation where there is going to be a major pause being pressed.”
Facebook’s Libra has triggered widespread criticism from regulators all over the world. The US Congress members, in particular, have criticized Libra because of the company’s less-than-stellar reputation with handling private data. However, it has also caused people to ask the intriguing question of how big tech companies and scientists can take monetary monopoly away from bankers and governments.
Mezrich added:
“This is terrifying for governments more than for banks. This is a form of money they have no control over. They suddenly get into this battle with these tech giants over something that is supposed to be something government has a total stranglehold on, right – money, fiat currency. So how do they regulate this? How can they possibly regulate something that is without borders, that is instant, that is controlled by these massive tech companies? I think they’ve got a real problem ahead of them.”
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