| 来源类型 | Article
|
| 规范类型 | 评论
|
| Why consumers must beware Libra |
| Paul H. Kupiec
|
| 发表日期 | 2019-07-25
|
| 出版年 | 2019
|
| 语种 | 英语
|
| 摘要 | Business promises of new and better services have a way of succumbing to the siren song of profits. When cable television first began, consumers thought fees would ensure programs without ads. Long ago, frequent flyer miles could actually be redeemed to get airline tickets. But that was then. Corporations today have a way of reneging on deals that seem too good to be true. So buyer beware the new Facebook money known as Libra.
Libra is a cryptocurrency that will be managed by the Libra Association, an organization owned by numerous corporations led by Facebook. Libra is a cryptocurrency that will be bought, sold, and traded using an official approved mobile app. Libra is not the cryptocurrency of your grandfather. The Facebook sales pitch is that, because Libra is backed by assets, it will hold its value better than dollars or euros and will be cheaper to use than existing bank accounts. Call me cynical, but this Facebook money could very easily be the incarnation of cable television and frequent flyer miles.
The official white paper explains that Libra pays no interest to those that own the cryptocurrency but requires owners to pay fees to do anything with Libra. This cryptocurrency looks to be a gold mine for Facebook and the other Libra Association members with the gold mined from the wallets of the unfortunate souls who decide to switch to using Libra as currency.
To understand Libra user fees, you have to understand how Libra works. Firms will provide consumers with virtual wallet services for their Libra through internet accounts where consumers hold and trade their Libra, which will not pay interest. Libra wallets will not be federally insured, so consumers will be out of luck if someone hacks their Libra wallet. If firms do not charge a fee for managing a Libra wallet, they will probably sell customer data in order to cover costs and make a profit.
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Consumers must buy Libra from an authorized reseller in a transaction similar to buying a security. Here come the fees. It will cost more to buy Libra than to sell Libra. The reseller pockets the “bid ask” spread, which will vary with demand. If everyone wants to sell Libra simultaneously, resellers will offer to buy Libra at a much lower price than if there were many willing Libra buyers. Unlike getting money from a bank, the dollars you receive when you cash out Libra will depend on how many other people are waiting in line to buy or sell Libra on the day you cash out. |
| 主题 | Economics
; Monetary Economics
|
| 标签 | banking
; Cryptocurrency (bitcoin)
; facebook
; technology
|
| URL | https://www.aei.org/articles/why-consumers-must-beware-libra/
|
| 来源智库 | American Enterprise Institute (United States)
|
| 资源类型 | 智库出版物
|
| 条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/266174
|
推荐引用方式
GB/T 7714 |
Paul H. Kupiec. Why consumers must beware Libra. 2019.
|
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