Facebook cannot compete with the euro

On Tuesday, July 16, Facebook had to answer for itself during a hearing of the US Senate. But European governments are also concerned about Libra, the digital currency of Facebook. The most recent opponent is Olaf Scholz, the Finance Minister of Germany.

In imitation of other politicians worldwide, he has spoken out against libra. He also calls on regulators to extensively investigate the Libra project.

“The release of your own currency is not one of the tasks of an organization. This is the task of a sovereign state, “says Olaf Scholz.

“Euro remains a payment method within the euro zone”

Schholz focused in particular on the relationship between the euro and the libra. He believes that libra should not have a place in the European monetary union. “The euro is and remains the only legal tender within the euro zone,” warns Scholz.

Scholz’s statements are in line with those of the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire. He said at the time: “Libra as a sovereign currency, no way. It can and must not happen. “

Libra directly opposite the US Senate

The Facebook hearing on July 16 was also the talk of the day. David Marcus is ultimately responsible for Calibra, the accompanying wallet from libra. In fact, it was mainly about (the lack of) trust and about privacy issues. Republican Martha McSally:

“I don’t trust Facebook, and that’s because they repeatedly violate the privacy of its users. The most important issue is trust. “

David Marcus then addressed the interests of Libra and Calibra. According to him, the American government must go with libra. Otherwise, other cryptocurrencys such as bitcoin can threaten the dominance of the dollar:

“I believe that if America does not lead the innovation in digital currency and payments, others will. If the country fails to take action, we will soon see another currency under the control of others. This value differs dramatically from ours. “

With this Marcus tries to reassure the US Senate: according to him, libra is a means to secure the US dollar. That is in direct opposition to the promise made by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencys, a digital decentralized currency that is completely disconnected from a central government.

More and more politicians are getting involved in the discussion about libra. The question is actually: will the libra ever be launched? Or does the white paper end up with the ambitious plan? We will keep an eye on the developments for you!