The blockchain/crypto week in quotes

“We write to request that Facebook and its partners immediately agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on Libra, its proposed cryptocurrency and Calibra, its proposed digital wallet. It appears that these products may lend themselves to an entirely new global financial system that is based out of Switzerland and intended to rival US monetary policy and the dollar. This raises serious privacy, trading, national security, and monetary policy concerns for not only Facebook’s over two billion users, but also for investors, consumers, and the broader global economy.” US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services

“Only a fool would trust Facebook with his or her financial well being. But maybe that’s the point: with so much personal data on some 2.4 billion monthly active users, who knows better than Facebook just how many suckers are born every minute?” Nobel prize-winning economist, Joseph Eugene Stiglitz

“Facebook will not control the network, the currency, or the reserve backing it. Facebook will only be one among over a hundred members of the Libra Association by launch. We will not have any special rights or privileges. Facebook created a subsidiary — Calibra — that will operate a wallet service on top of the Libra Network, and while Facebook owns and controls Calibra, it won’t see financial data from Calibra. 

Even more importantly, people will have many ways in which to use Libra and access the network. You’ll be able to use a range of custodial and non-custodial wallets that will have full interoperability with one another, meaning you’ll be able to pay and receive payments across wallets from different companies, or use a software wallet you’d operate on your own.

Bottom line: You won’t have to trust Facebook to get the benefit of Libra. And Facebook won’t have any special responsibility over the Libra Network. But we hope that people will respond favourably to the Calibra wallet. We’ve been clear about our approach to financial data separation and we will live up to our commitments and work hard to deliver real utility.” David Marcus, Head of Calibra at Facebook 

“I don’t think I’m selling (Bitcoin) the next time we’re up to $14,000. The next time we get up there it’s closer to $20,000…I don’t expect that in the next few weeks, I don’t expect it till the middle or the end of the fourth quarter.” Galaxy Digital Founder Mike Novogratz

“As we reach the half year point of Bitcoin’s price movements, the next six months of the year look very promising. After starting the year in the $3,000s, Bitcoin’s price has shown very strong and steady growth month after month, breaking the $10,000 barrier in June – an increase of over 300% since the start of the year.

There are speculations that the price rise has been caused by Facebook’s announcement of Libra coin, which we completely disagree with. Instead, we believe the recent success has come from the natural growth of the industry which has been building up again over the last six months (this is based on previous price runs we have operated through and gradual increases in registrations at CoinCorner).

Looking at Google Trends , you can see that Libra had a small spike in interest, but nothing in comparison to Bitcoin – so, the logic that the new traffic brought in via Libra has then brought extra traffic resulting in Bitcoin’s price increase is simply flawed. We’re anticipating that the next six months will continue at a steady pace increasing month on month and can see it rising past its previous high of $20,000 by the end of 2019.” Danny Scott, Co-founder, CoinCorner 

“Since Facebook announced its plans to launch its own digital currency based on blockchain, Libra, in 2020, cybercriminals have used this as a window for new opportunity. Unfortunately, the reality is, many people are unsure about using cryptocurrency, or even what cryptocurrency is, enabling cybercriminals to take advantage of potential investors. The bottomline is, where there’s money to be made you’ll find cybercriminals looking to exploit innocent people.

Currently, people clearly don’t have the same level of confidence in online currency exchanges that they do with bricks and mortar banks, whether that’s a currency exchange that holds our digital money for us, or our own digital wallet. And there’s a risk that reports of this kind will further undermine confidence. If cryptocurrencies are to rival real world currencies, we all need to have the same level of trust.

On the one hand, this means online exchanges taking steps to secure online data and transactions. However, it also means that we need to take steps to protect ourselves online. The sharks are now circling those dipping their toes in the water of Facebook Libra, and people need to be alert to the potential dangers involved in conducting cryptocurrency transactions.” David Emm, Principal Security Researcher, Kaspersky

“There won’t be an altcoin run. All value will flow to Bitcoin.” US broadcaster Max Keiser