“Libra Neither Has Block nor Chains: FT Alphaville”, Enough to Stir up a Reaction from Facebook

To start with here is an excerpt from Libra’s White Paper:

The Libra Blockchain is pseudonymous and allows users to hold one or more addresses that are not linked to their real-world identity. This approach is familiar to many users, developers, and regulators. The Libra Association will oversee the evolution of the Libra Blockchain protocol and network, and it will continue to evaluate new techniques that enhance privacy in the blockchain while considering concerns of practicality, scalability, and regulatory impact.

One of the recent posts from FT Alphaville, titled – “Facebook’s Libra: Blockchain but Without the Blocks or Chains”, has managed to stir up a reaction from Facebook. The article was authored by Jemima Kelly. The author questioned the requirement for Facebook to create blockchain-based crypto. Further, in the article points were raised about the lacking points of the crypto and their incapacity of making a blockchain.

Facebook’s take:

On this, Facebook has naturally defended Libra against the claims that it is not ‘true crypto.’ Explaining further, Facebook went ahead to inform the writers of the FT Alphaville publication that Libra is based on the blockchain technology. The company also advised the writers to do the research thoroughly before finalizing any viewpoint.

It is not only this article with the title – “Facebook’s Libra: Blockchain but Without the Blocks or Chains”, in the past too, FT Alphaville has released many articles about Facebook’s cryptocurrency. Many of them had a stern hand on the features and the lacking points of the crypto by Facebook. For instance, you can read the article titled – “Breaking the Zuck Buck.”

FT Alphaville’s take:

In the article in question, Kelly pointed at the statement from Libra White paper which reads as,

Unlike previous blockchains, which view the blockchain as a collection of blocks of transactions, the Libra Blockchain is a single data structure that records the history of transactions and states over time.

Based on such statements mentioned in the white paper by Libra, the author tried to point at the fact the Libra is trying to a different kind of blockchain at a basic level. This would mean we would get a different kind of blockchain than another version of it. In Kelly’s article, she used an analogy of a loaf of bread to elaborate on her point. She said that like the loaves of bread that existed previously looked at the loaf of bread as a “collectively baked set of ingredients.” On the other hand, when she talked about Libra, she called Libra as a separate loaf of bread, which has ‘single ingredient structure.’ This, according to her analogy, ‘bakes the components sequentially over time.’

Facebook’s Libra:

Only a few days ago, Facebook launched its blockchain and cryptocurrency, both with the name – Libra. Given the user base of the platform, Libra is in for a sure win. What makes the situation even more interesting is the fact that one doesn’t need a Facebook account to use the crypto. Moreover, it is backed up with the platform’s new subsidiary – Calibra, Libra Association (overall there are twenty-eight founding members which include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Uber, Lyft, Coinbase), and an independent consortium.

Further, in an interview, the head of policy and communications for the Libra Association – Dante Disparte said in all those places where Visa or Mastercard logo are granted permission, Libra would ‘follow suit.’ Disparate thinks that it is a great move forward.

The users will be offered many options to send or store Libra, as per the company. As for now, the company is focusing majorly on international remittances. Calibra will soon offer the users the digital wallets to transact or store Libra cryptos. The users can access these crypto wallets through an app (suitable for both iOS and Android operating systems), Facebook’s Messenger service, or WhatsApp services. We can expect the launch of the Libra blockchain somewhere in 2020, as per the announcement.