Facebook’s Libra project is a big mistake, according to billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
In an interview with CNBC, he said: “I’m not a big fan of what they’re doing there”. He added that he was not so much concerned with the impact on US markets but at a global level. “I think globally and in countries where there isn’t a lot of rule of law, or a lot of government stability, or currency stability, then it could be dangerous.”
“There’s going to be some despot in some African country that gets really upset that they can’t control their currency anymore and that’s where the real problems start occurring,” Cuban continued.
Trump’s tweets
Cuban’s comments came in the wake of a series of tweets from Donald Trump, in which he slammed Bitcoin and Libra.
I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
Somewhat unsurprisingly, various crypto players have hit back at the US President. CoinCorner’s CEO, Danny Scott, for instance, commented: “His comments imply that he is uneducated on Bitcoin and misinformed on what it is actually being used for nowadays. In the early days of Bitcoin, it had a reputation for being used for illicit purposes, but this view is outdated. Bitcoin has grown in popularity with the masses, and become part of day to day life as people utilise it as a beneficial store of wealth. What’s more, exchanges around the world, including CoinCorner, abide by KYC and AML regulations, and have stringent processes in place to prevent misuse by criminals.”
As for the US dollar, fiat currencies facilitate more criminal activity than cryptocurrencies, Scott argued. “The US Treasury actually confirmed in a panel hearing in 2017 that although virtual currencies are used for illicit transactions, the volume is small compared to the volume of illicit activity through traditional financial services”.
“Unlike what President Trump terms “real currencies”, all transactions made with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are recorded on the blockchain and are visible for anyone to see. Compared to this, paper money like USD, GBP and EUR are especially difficult to keep track of because of their physical nature, making them far easier for criminals to misuse,” Scott concluded.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.