Libra Association: BTC isn't a means of payment / Germany's central bank wants to slow down Libra / Calibra seeks two marketing experts

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Presented by Subscribe | View in browser 1. Dante Disparte, vice chair of the Libra Association, has said that Bitcoin isn't a means of payment. Speaking during the Digital Money Forum at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas yesterday, Disparte stated that he became interested in what Facebook is building with Libra because the crypto world isn't doing enough on payments. He went on to note that "Bitcoin as an asset class has proven that mathematical scarcity can support an incredibly exciting asset." Despite this, though, Akin Sawyerr, a strategy lead on the Decred project, argued that he wasn't convinced that several "self-interested companies" could do money better than a decentralized network. The Libra Association is attempting to launch the Libra stablecoin later this year, which it hopes will help millions of people who don't have access to financial services. However, since Facebook released the Libra whitepaper last June, the project has faced severe pushback from global regulators. –COINDESK       2. Germany's central bank president Jens Weidmann has said that Facebook's Libra needs to be slowed down with further regulations. In his opinion, the idea of Libra would be very risky to users as it would be tied to several different fiat currencies. He also went on to say that European banks should first look to improving their payment networks before considering the launch of a digital euro. In addition, Weidmann believes the main focus should be on reducing transaction times and making them more cost-effective, which, in turn, would reduce the threat of projects such as Libra. –CRYPTOPOLITAN       A MESSAGE FROM EQUITYMULTIPLE Making Real Estate Investing Simple, Accessible & Transparent. Build a Stronger Portfolio. Looking to diversify beyond stocks & bonds? EquityMultiple provides you access to the kinds of commercial real estate investments that were once open only to institutional investors. Start with just $10k & diversify across markets, property types, & risk/return profiles. Build a better portfolio. Invest Today   3. Calibra, Facebook's blockchain subsidiary, is seeking two marketing experts to help reach "billions of people" ahead of the launch of its Libra stablecoin. Calibra is specifically looking for a Head of Brand and a Head of Media, Digital Marketing and Community. Candidates are expected to have at least 15 years of marketing experience and 10 years of leadership experience. The job postings state that "our ultimate goal is to help billions of people with access to things they don't have now." –THE BLOCK       4. Ueli Maurer, Switzerland's president and finance minister, argues Facebook's Libra has failed. Speaking to Swiss broadcaster SRF, Maurer said that he doesn't think Libra has a chance in its current form, adding that "central banks will not accept the basket of currencies underpinning it." Yet, as this report points out, even if central banks don't accept the stablecoin, exchanges will still allow users to convert their digital assets to fiat. –THE NEXT WEB       5. This article looks at several crypto predictions for 2020. According to the author, Libra won't launch this year in the way that Facebook proposed. The article further highlights that Libra has "stained Facebook's reputation," arguing that the social media platform jumped on the blockchain bandwagon. If Facebook does move forward, the author believes Libra will be less crypto and more like conventional finance. –QUARTZ       6. Pantera Capital partner Paul Veradittakit has said that Libra will open up discussions on regulatory issues and data privacy. He went on to say that "ongoing criticism" of the social media platform's data scandals will highlight the need to improve a platform such as Libra and Calibra. –AMB CRYPTO       7. According to this piece, Facebook Pay, a payment system project built by the social media platform, has been better handled than Libra. Unlike Libra, which is positioned as a "simple global currency and financial infrastructure" that will record transactions on a blockchain, Facebook Pay is similar to PayPal and Venmo. However, whereas Libra has been faced with negative criticism from global regulators, Facebook has been keen to alleviate security concerns regarding Facebook Pay. –PAYMENTS SOURCE       8. According to Lisa Neigut, Lightning Developer at Blockstream, Libra will indirectly improve the general adoption of Bitcoin and other crypto-assets. Not only that, but the stablecoin will normalize the concept of avoiding credit card payments, which will provide people with a better idea of how cryptocurrency works. –AMB CRYPTO       9. Facebook's Libra is struggling to gain momentum within the crypto space because it is facing an uphill battle with regulatory issues, according to this article. Sinclair Davidson, an associate at RMIT University's Blockchain Innovation Hub, claims that crypto assets such as Libra could undermine the ability of states to use financial sanctions as a foreign policy tool. –WORLD FINANCE       10. In case you missed it, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) has said that stablecoins, such as Libra, are a threat to the Yuan, the country's national currency. The central bank's vice governor Chen Yulu stated that stablecoins could also weaken the efforts of capital controls and lead to volatile asset prices. –REUTERS       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. Edited by Sheena Vasani, Inside staff writer.       Ad Invest in Exclusive, Expertly Vetted Real Estate. From Anywhere. Start with just $10k.

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Kelly's conflict?

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January 8, 2019 WHAT CONFLICT? Kelly Loeffler, newly appointed U.S. senator and former Bakkt CEO, will join the committee that oversees the CFTC. The appointment has raised concerns of a conflict of interest, as Loeffler is married to Jeffrey Sprecher, the founder and chief executive of ICE.  Full story LOW-PROFIT ATTACK: A recent study from Harvard researchers found Tezos is threatened by "selfish mining," a potential attack model for proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies. Luckily for Tezos, the selfish mining concern can be patched through the network’s on-chain governance model, which conducts periodic votes for protocol changes in lieu of hard or soft forks. Full story PRO APP: Coinbase Pro released an Android app Tuesday, granting the exchange’s professional investors access to high-speed trades and other features. Coinbase Pro customers in more than 100 countries can access 50 different trading pairs via the new app, the firm said. Full story SLEEPING GIANT: According to Digital Assets Data, a fintech company building crypto data feeds, nearly 60 percent of all bitcoins remained dormant in 2019, the highest percentage of "hodled" bitcoins since early 2017.  BLOCKCHAIN INVENTION: Enterprise software vendor R3 has won a patent for a blockchain-based record system designed to make corporate information-sharing more efficient. Awarded Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent describes a system for "managing transactions in dynamic digital documents" that would provide companies with an immutable data record. Full story BULLS ON PARADE: Bitcoin jumped to seven-week highs early on Wednesday, bolstering the short-term bullish technical setup. The rally may now continue toward key Fibonacci resistance located above $8,600. Pullbacks, if any, are expected to be short-lived, and the bullish case will remain valid as long as support near $7,570 is intact. Full story BOT-COIN: Today on Markets Daily Adam B Levine and Brad Keoun are talking about the future of robotics, which might see robots paying robots in crypto, as machines begin to automate away our quotidian tasks. Full story WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2019 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  Our mailing address is:  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list