Facebook: New world digital Bank?

If users integrate the system with Messenger and WhatsApp accounts, Facebook will track critical information - such as with whom or in which store users have started an interaction.

There is already a lot of talk about Facebook and the long-awaited stablecoin pilot project, which is expected to debut before the end of the year.

The Democrats in the Senate are involved in the debate - or rather, two of them, Elizabeth Warren and Seron Brown. The second month ago, it submitted a proposal for an additional 2% tax on repurchases of shares of companies listed on Wall Street.

The above-mentioned "pilot project" will initially involve only two countries - the US and Guatemala.

Guatemala is known to be a country where many remittance payments - often by unofficial or unrecognized means - are sent by Western Union or banks or other intermediaries who have previously charged for the service. Democrats say they care about the fate of these people and their families.

However, Warren and Senate Banking Chairman S. Brown are urging Facebook to "immediately stop the company's pilot work."

 Bloomberg reported, fearing that Facebook would not manage part of the money supply, given that he is already too busy fixing all his other problems.

"Facebook can not be trusted to manage a payment system or digital currency when its existing ability to manage risks and keep consumers safe has proved to be completely inadequate," the senators wrote in a letter to Zuckerberg.

The federal government has already made its views known on Zuckerberg's latest scientific work. And that policy is essentially the same: it's okay with the Zuckerberg process as long as it coordinates its actions with the Fed.

This is important because, as we explained, it essentially makes FacebookCoin (or Novi or Diem, or as they call it now) the proxy for FedCoin.

But since they have already allowed thousands of random people to create "coins" out of essentially .... beaten air, they have no choice but to accept the so-called ZuckCoin.

Like any other cryptocurrency, customers will need a digital wallet. Facebook uses the first mobility advantage by creating Calibra, a digital wallet built into Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Calibra is designed to record three major payment activities.

-First, if you send remittance payments internationally to family members.

-Second, if you transfer money between friends,

-third, when making online and offline payments to retailers or between commercial bonds.

In this regard, Calibra seeks to penetrate the international payment market and become a trading medium for the daily activities of individuals.

Of course, every developer can launch their own Libra digital wallet. However, the results of the data network will consolidate Calibra's advantage in the market. Once a relevant field is created, competitors will find high barriers to entering the market.

The payment solutions offered by Big Techs have two primary business models.

In the first case, customers use existing third-party infrastructure to process and settle payments. 

For example, Google Pay or Apple Pay relies on credit cards or retail payment systems.

 In the second model, Big Techs are developing their payment processing and settlement systems — such as Alipay and M-Pesa. In both cases, however, Big Tech depends directly or indirectly on the banks.

This differs from Libra, which would be completely independent of the traditional payment infrastructure, creating benefits and risks. On the one hand, it could reduce the cost of money transfers, with significant advantages, especially for micro-transactions and remittances with high transaction costs.

On the other hand, there are serious concerns about financial stability, the fight against money laundering, and privacy. So, as Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, commented, Libra will be discussed with an "open mind" but not with an "open door."

Facebook has promised that data from Calibra transactions will not be used for advertising purposes and will be kept separate from Facebook's data collection mechanisms. However, it needs to be made clear how this separation will be enforced.

If users integrate Calibra with Messenger and WhatsApp accounts, Facebook will track essential information - such as who or what store users started interacting with.

Many open-ended questions require in-depth analysis and reflection.

The first set of questions concerns the protection of privacy and the rules against money laundering. Facebook claims that blockchain Libra will record any transaction, making this data accessible via a pseudonym. However, it remains to be seen how effectively authorities could log in and implement surveillance services to link a user's identity to a transaction, mitigating the risks of misbehavior and moral hazard from users.

In any case, Libra has the potential to disrupt financial markets.

 However, its long-term impact is uncertain.

The present is ahead of us, and the future still needs to be clarified on cryptocurrencies.

Always drive safely.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace specialized consulting services with professional experts.