The End of Facebook’s Stablecoin project called Diem, formerly known as Libra.
The Washington Post ran this story recently, and several other news outlets ran similar stories or simply repeated the Posts story with references.
I enjoyed reading the post by @geekgirl about this story and left a comment praising what I thought was a respectful and introspectful look at the story.
I write my own post to focus in my words on the very important revolutionary aspect of Libra, which I think all cryptocurrency affictionados should embrace.
While very few of us would embrace Mr Zukerberg as a kindred spirit in the decentralized Web 3.0 space. I feel there is an important commonality here we should not miss .
Background
Money is as old as civilization itself. Money’s core functions: a unit of exchange for trade and commerce, a unit of account and a store of value are essential to the progress of civilizations.
Currency is money because a government says it is money. And it is controlled by a long list of rules because it usually belongs to the government issuing it, not the individuals possessing it. These two very important aspects of currency; ownership and control, make currency one of the most powerful tools a government has to control its citizens.
Once you accept that concept as a potential truth, you can begin to understand how Mr Zuckerbergs Libra was actually going to function like a currency, but with one important difference, it was not issued by or directly controlled by a government. It would instead be issued by and controlled by a non-governmental entity or entities.
I think you should pause to consider how revolutionary this idea is. Bitcoin could function as money, Stablecoins can function as money, and in fulfilling the important core functions of money, but in not being owned by or controlled by a single countries government both Bitcoin and Stablecoins are tools of freedom for people. These are tools of liberation and they remove a huge control mechanism governments use on their citizens. Perhaps more remarkable is that they remove the control that the USA has over other governments and their citizens that the US Dollar provides.
So Libra had to be crushed, and Diem, which rose from its carcass has been killed also. But ideas never die, and despite the death of their creator they live on, taking on a metaphorical life of their own.
In this way Mr Zukerberg was a kindred spirit with cryptocurrency fans, as his Libra would have potentially freed the world from control by the the US Dollar. Never more apropos was the statement that the enemy of my enemy is my ally, and potential my friend. I do not ignore the potential for the self-serving interests of my allies, as they too observe of me.
The end for now . . .@shortsegments . . . penned by my hand on the 3rd of February 2022.
Other sources you can read:
Special Notes on the cover photo
Photo Caption: FILE - Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, left, testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, about his plans for the new cryptocurrency Libra, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. Libra, which was later known as the digital currency project Diem, is dead and its assets sold to bank holding company Silvergate Capital. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)