Facebook confirms launch of ‘transformative’ crytocurrency

Social network Facebook is to launch a cryptocurrency next year.
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The currency is known as Libra, which the social network says it has “no special role” in governing and will manage the reserve equally with a group of big companies.

So far, it has enlisted 28 firms, including Spotify and Uber, who each had to invest a minimum of £8 million to be a founding member of the Libra Association, an independent not-for-profit membership organisation.

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File photo dated 24/07/13 of Mark Zuckerberg : Chris Ratcliffe/PA WireFile photo dated 24/07/13 of Mark Zuckerberg : Chris Ratcliffe/PA Wire
File photo dated 24/07/13 of Mark Zuckerberg : Chris Ratcliffe/PA Wire
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Libra is supported by a reserve of the world’s best assets and the world’s most trusted central banks, who gave the cryptocurrency “general cautious support”, according to David Marcus, who started exploring blockchain at Facebook a year ago.

“Libra holds the potential to provide billions of people around the world with access to a more inclusive, more open financial ecosystem,” he said.

The social network is hoping that its collaborative approach can ease volatility concerns of existing blockchains and cryptocurrencies. Facebook will operate its own digital wallet for people to spend Libra, known as the Calibra Wallet, which will be available in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and as a standalone app. Users will be able to send money to each other initially, at low to no cost, the social network said.

Eventually, it intends to open the Calibra Wallet up to additional services, so that people can pay bills, buy goods by scanning a code or accessing public transport.

In 2010 it took 10,000 Bitcoins to buy 2 large pizzas and have them delivered. Based on today's value that's the equivalent of GBP 30,958,852 per pizzaIn 2010 it took 10,000 Bitcoins to buy 2 large pizzas and have them delivered. Based on today's value that's the equivalent of GBP 30,958,852 per pizza
In 2010 it took 10,000 Bitcoins to buy 2 large pizzas and have them delivered. Based on today's value that's the equivalent of GBP 30,958,852 per pizza
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Account information from Calibra will not be shared with Facebook to improve things like ad targeting, except for “limited cases” where this data may be shared “to keep people safe, comply with the law, and provide basic functionality to the people who use Calibra”, the social network added.

Libra is open source, meaning anyone will be able to launch their own digital wallet and include the currency.

“As a Founding Member of the Libra Network, Vodafone will extend its commitment to digital and financial inclusion by supporting the creation of a new global currency and encouraging a wide range of innovative financial services to be developed through its open-source platform,” said Stefano Parisse, group director of product and services at Vodafone Group.

“This has the potential to be truly transformative and will benefit those who have never used, or are struggling to access, financial services around the world.”

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David Clarke, head of policy at Positive Money, said that a digital currency controlled by “tech cartels” was not a solution to the drive to reinvent money.

“Our money is increasingly in the hands of a small number of banks and payment companies, and we should avoid ceding further control to unaccountable corporate interests. Facebook’s plans pose alarming implications for privacy and power in the economy, and governments must respond by providing a central bank digital currency as a public alternative.

“If regulators come under pressure to give the likes of Facebook access to central bank reserves, we should ask why this privilege shouldn’t be extended to ordinary citizens as well?”

The announcement is made after it was revealed that the language used in Facebook posts can be used to identify some medical conditions.

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A new study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Stony Brook University in the US suggests that analysing the content of posts to the social network could help spot signs of conditions such as diabetes, anxiety, depression and psychosis.

The researchers said it could be used to gain an insight into a person’s lifestyle choices and how they were feeling.

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