Libra is "delusional" / David Marcus defends Libra / Dorsey invests in startup

Inside Libra presented by The Motley Fool.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser 1. Huang Qifan, a prominent political figure in China, has said that Facebook's Libra project is "delusional" and that it's set to fail. Qifan, the former mayor of Chongqing, in southwest China, said that a decentralized currency that would compete with fiat currency should not be allowed and that China's central bank digital currency was more likely to succeed. Qifan went on to say that currencies such as Bitcoin and Libra, which are trying to challenge foreign currencies are "delusional." According to him, if commercial companies can issue various currencies, the "world will be in chaos." Because of this, Qifan doesn't think Libra will succeed. –SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST       2. David Marcus, head of Facebook's Libra, has spoken out to defend the project. Speaking at Money 20/20, an industry conference held in Las Vegas, Marcus stated that "the most meaningful innovations that have changed the lives of millions...have always been met with damning headlines." Citing examples, he pointed toward electricity, the Internet, mobile phones, and smartphones. He went on the say that similar to how these innovations changed the world, so too does Libra have the potential to achieve the same. His comments come at a time when Libra is facing increasing regulatory pressure from policymakers and when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress last week. Zuckerberg noted, at the time, that he was prepared to delay the launch of Libra, which is projected for 2020. –FINEXTRA       A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTLEY FOOL This stock could be like buying Amazon – in 1997 David Gardner, the investor who's tripling the returns of the market, just recommended a new stock… and he thinks it has the potential for Amazon-like returns. This is only the 5th time in 16 years he's recommended a stock like this. Click here to learn more. 3. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, is backing a cryptocurrency startup after turning down Facebook's Libra. Last week, Dorsey stated at an event in New York City that Twitter wouldn't be joining Libra. In his words, he said "hell no." Instead, he's invested his money into CoinList's $10 million funding round alongside several other investors. According to reports, the money will go toward building CoinList Trade, a new exchange platform. –THE WALL STREET JOURNAL       4. In this letter to the Financial Times, a writer states that one way of preventing central banks from losing their monopoly power over Libra if it's given the green light, is for it to operate as a currency board. That way, one Libra can be issued against one unit of a predefined basket of currencies. The writer goes on to add that Libra might be a useful tool "to secure, accelerate and make cheaper the exchange of goods...without chipping at the seigniorage collected by central banks." –FINANCIAL TIMES       5. Beatrice Weder di Mauro, president of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, has said that Libra may not be approved, but it could spur on the creation of another global digital currency. According to her, Libra has "shaken up the banking community," as it has given them pause for thought on the possibility of a private sector-backed digital currency. In her opinion, though, Libra is unlikely to happen as the regulators won't allow it. –CNBC       6. David Rutter, founder and CEO of R3, has said that Libra has boosted banks' cryptocurrency efforts. In Rutter's opinion, the project has "clearly accelerated some timeframes" for both financial institutions and regulators. He added that because of the size of Facebook, banks are now going to spend the resources into exploring cryptocurrencies. –FINANCIAL NEWS       7. France, along with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands, are joining forces to make it as difficult as possible for Libra to launch next year. The group are presenting a unified front following closed-door meetings this month and have announced their position to the rest of the EU. In turn, this may see added pressure from the remaining organizations that are part of the Libra Association to give it up. –POLITICO       This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter. Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).       Ad If you want to invest better, you want The Motley Fool.

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