There’s been a lot of talk about Facebook’s highly anticipated cryptocurrency project, Libra, and how it’ll impact the crypto industry. A lot of the conversations on the topic haven’t exactly been in favor of Libra, and for some pretty good reasons. After all, Facebook doesn’t exactly have the best track record with respecting privacy. And following the highly publicized Cambridge Analytica scandal, do we really want to trust Facebook with anything remotely related to finance?
But what if we’re all overreacting and Libra? What if it’s actually good for the industry? Let’s take a look at five of the benefits Libra can bring to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
- Mainstream crypto adoption: Getting everyone onboard the cryptocurrency bandwagon has been the number-one goal of the community for some time now. There are countless innovative blockchain and cryptocurrency projects which have proudly boasted their platform could bring cryptocurrency to a mainstream audience… and as of now, none of them have. Facebook is the only platform with 2.38 billion users, and if even half of its user base started using Libra, that would be a huge step towards normalizing cryptocurrency.
- Facebook can demystify cryptocurrency: Crypto is still struggling to overcome the lawless, clandestine image associated with the Silk Road marketplace, money laundering, and other illegal activities. While there are a number of legitimate businesses exploring (or investing in) cryptocurrency, Facebook would be one of the largest companies to adopt crypto and implement it.
- It could bring governments into the crypto community: Following the previous point, Libra’s implementation and success helps to legitimize the currency in the eyes of a number of national governments. While this could create further regulations, which some people within the community are against, it could also mean that people are more protected against crypto-related scams.
- More trading volume: This is a big benefit for traders and investors. Not long after Libra takes off, we’ll undoubtedly see it being paired with other coins on exchanges. You can expect to find USD/Libra, EUR/Libra, BTC/Libra, and ETH/Libra pairs on most of the popular trading platforms. This will also help bring more traders to the crypto markets, which increases the earning potential for all crypto investors and traders.
- It could spearhead other projects: Facebook isn’t the first company to embrace crypto, but it’s certainly one of the biggest. If Libra is a success, which it probably will be, we can expect to see other companies following suit. Not only does this finally mean mainstream adoption, it also means more money will be going into the markets as other enterprise-level companies follow suit.
As you can see, it’s not all bad. There is some good that comes out of Facebook adopting crypto. Plus, with all the benefits associated with cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, it was only a matter of time before a giant corporation went all in.
It just sucks that it was Facebook.
