Caitlin Long on Why Facebook's Libra Coin is Good for Bitcoin

The Peter McCormack Show - A podcast by Peter McCormack

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Interview location: Skype
Interview date: Monday 17th Jun, 2019
Company: Wyoming Blockchain Coalition
Role: Co-Founder

Facebooks venture into cryptocurrencies raises many questions. Will Libra coin lead to mass financial surveillance? Will Facebook share our data with governments? Will Libra be a net benefit for Bitcoin.

While many Bitcoiners are understandably cautious:
- Facebook has a long history of abusing privacy
- Libra is a centralised coin and likely not censorship resistant
- The goal is to educate people about Bitcoin, not a proxy dollar coin

Still, the introduction of Libra does present an opportunity to further the growth in adoption of Bitcoin:
- Over 2 billion people will be introduced to the term cryptocurrency
- The Libra/Bitcoin chart will likely highlight the value of Bitcoin rising against Libra

Libra comes with much regulatory uncertainty, but it is also could be a tool for good in developing countries with poor fiscal discipline. Also, it is an opportunity to increase the reach and education of Bitcoin.

In this interview, I chat with Caitlin Long, co-founder of the Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, about Facebook’s venture into cryptocurrencies. We discuss interest payments, regulations, and why Libra will be good for Bitcoin.

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Caitlin:
- On Twitter @CaitlinLong_
- Website https://caitlin-long.com/
- On LinkedIn

Caitlin’s articles:
- What Facebook's Cryptocurrency Means: 6 Predictions
- Tweetstorm about Facebook
- Supreme Court And Digital Privacy: Should Blockchain Companies Challenge The Bank Secrecy Act?

Articles about Libra:
- Facebook unveils its Libra digital currency: Here's how it could change the way you spend money
- Facebook Unveils Libra Cryptocurrency, Targeting 1.7 Billion Unbanked
- Everything we know about Facebook's Libra crypto plan
- Facebook's Answer to Bitcoin Poses a Double Threat
- US Senate Banking Committee Presses Facebook for Info on Crypto Project

Mentioned in the interview:
- Brittany Kaiser - Former Cambridge Analytica exec says she wants lies to stop
- Book: Friedrich Hayek - The Denationalization of Money
- Jeffrey P. Snider Alhambra Investments
- Doug Miller - Credit Bubble Bulletin
- Jeffrey Tucker article about Libra
- Financial Action Task Force - Virtual Currencies: Key Definitions and Potential AML/CFT Risks
- WeChat is quietly ranking user behavior to play catch-up with Alibaba
- Civil forfeiture in the United States

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD117: Jeremy Welch on Why Bitcoin Changes Everything
- WBD108: A Bitcoin Reality Check in Venezuela with Jill Carlson, Alejandro Machado & Jamaal Montasser
- WBD107: Daniel Buchner on Why Microsoft is Building Decentralised IDs on Bitcoin
- WBD084: Amber Baldet on Surveillance Capitalism
- WBD051: Zac Prince on the Future of Banking With Bitcoin
- WBD050: The SEC's Hester Peirce on Regulating Cryptocurrencies

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