How Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Venture Fell to its Demise
Surely, we all remember that one time when Facebook tried to enter the cryptocurrency world to expand its influence into the decentralized universe of cryptocurrency and blockchain. But those familiar with Facebook’s cryptocurrency venture also know that the dream did not even come close to fruition. Why? Let’s just start by saying many factors led to its unfortunate doomed fate, which was put into question from the get-go, but the main one has to be the project’s failure to secure the satisfaction of federal regulators.
Facebook Crypto Coin
In its first uncovering of its ambitious venture, the initial Facebook cryptocurrency name was Libra, which later on was changed, and the crypto coin was dubbed the name Diem. A term that could mean “carpe diem,” referring to the urge to make the most of the present time and not considering the thought and consequences of the future.
Seems quite fitting, given the project lasted only during its present time, did not see the light of day, and never reached its future endeavors. This can mainly be attributed to the heavy federal discontent of federal regulators and global finance officials, leading to its imminent failure in such a short period of time.
Originally, Facebook’s cryptocurrency venture was announced as a stablecoin with a value pegged to real-world assets, similar to worldly fiat currencies. The Facebook Libra cryptocurrency was intended to be adopted as a basic global currency with sparse fees, playing the role of digital money on your phone, used to pay any purchase supported by cryptocurrency. The overtone of this factor means that if the project had seen the light of day, it would’ve had its own monetary power, placing it in direct competition with the fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. An element that brimmed fear into financial officials, pushing federal regulators to impose some form of authority on the project and its success to prevent any impact on the financial system’s sustainability and the overall control imposed by global central banks over money.
The Duel for Existence
The cryptocurrency of Facebook has been fighting for its existence since day one. Bombarded with deep discontent from the regulatory gaze and central bankers driven by fears that it would endorse illegal endeavors such as money laundering and privacy infringement and present itself as potential competition for global currencies’ sovereignty.
Following the regulatory scrutiny, the Facebook coin Libra was exposed to an endless chain of various ownerships, ending with a wave of migration of many corporate partners and high-level executives. The project, which Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg hoped would change the world’s financial ecosystem, was soon faced with Washington’s rejection, particularly that of the Chair of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury secretary.
From there, the Big Tech giant’s respectable prestige was smeared to the ground during Zuckerberg’s testimony on Capitol Hill as he was playing all his cards to protect the name of the project. Yet the controversies of Facebook breaching Its users’ data privacy, spreading misinformation, and failing to provide robust censorship on its platform affected the stability of the project. Not to mention the fact that some of the biggest financial companies backing the project forsook, such as Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal. Then, followed by the head of Meta’s Cryptocurrency efforts, David Marcus announcement to abandon his responsibilities on the project.
With that in mind, the chain broke, and an overflow of criticism broke unto the project, with U.S. President Joe Biden expressing that he was never really a fan of the social media giant’s CEO and highly ranked Republicans and Democrats voicing their agitation with the Diem project.
Summary
The rippling effect of executives leaving Facebook’s cryptocurrency venture and politicians directing their wrath on the venture’s parent company left the Facebook coin, Libra, in a state of limbo for a while, which eventually led to Its demise. While there were many factors that contributed to its failure, the one thing that accentuated Its doomed fate is that the idea was envisioned by Facebook. The one thing that would’ve contributed to its eminent success, turned out to be the only thing catalyzing Its calamity.
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