Facebook reminded its investors through its quarterly report that Libra may never see the light of the day due to the various hurdles it is facing. In a section of the report, the company has stated that “As such, there can be no assurance that Libra or our associated products and services will be made available in a timely manner, or at all.”
Considering the pushbacks coming from the financial regulators and lawmakers, Facebook has mentioned that “Libra has drawn significant scrutiny from governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions and we expect that scrutiny to continue.” The company also mentioned that its lack of experience with digital currencies and blockchain can adversely affect the progress and marketing of the Libra project.
Facebook announced its plans for launching Libra in 2020 along with 27 other companies which include names like MasterCard, Uber, Vodafone Group and Spotify. Facebook states that Libra is a “global, digitally native, reserve-backed cryptocurrency” that will bring confidence and convenience in the life of the users. It will also be backed by a reserve of real assets to ensure a stable value.
While the alleged data breaches and privacy related issues have rocked Facebook in the past years, Libra drew instant criticism from the lawmakers and even from Donald Trump. Earlier, a few members of the Congress also demanded a total block on Libra. Even Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes described the initiative as “brilliant and frightening.” Any currency is based on a factor of trust trust and considering the recent issues Facebook has faced, it is not finding much positive ground in that aspect.
The company has not yet made it clear whether the launch date of Libra will suffer a delay but it has mentioned that it will “not offer the Libra digital currency until we have fully addressed regulatory concerns and received appropriate approvals.” In a recent interview with CNBC, a spokeswoman from Facebook mentioned that,” “We know that the journey to launching Libra will be a long one and that we cannot do this alone.”
Facebook is aware that governments from around the world will not show a favourable attitude towards Libra and it will be a big challenge to get the project see green light. It wrote that,” “Libra has drawn significant scrutiny from governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions and we expect that scrutiny to continue.”
On the other hand, cryptocurrency players have welcomed the concept of Libra as it will be a great move for the crypto market. Though operating through blockchain technology, Libra is not similar to bitcoin. Unlike bitcoin, which is resistant to censorship, Libra will be governed by a body of large corporations and is subject to regulatory forces from various world governments.
It remains to be seen how Facebook tackles the issue in the near future.
