Viewpoint: Libra Is an Opportunity to Leapfrog Chinese Fintech to Achieve Cashless Economy

Thursday, September 19, 2019

By Peter Morici

Few things unite Democrats, the Trump administration,the Federal Reserve, and even France’s Finance Ministry like opposition to Facebook’s Libra. The principal grievances are that widespread use of Libra could instigate financial instability and further enable the illicit transactions of drug dealers and terrorists.

Virtually all this is disingenuous and reflects the insecurity of the political class.

The financial crisis was denominated in dollars. The shaky mortgages, shoddy bonds and derivatives were the work of regulated banks, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions doing business in greenbacks — before Bitcoin came along.

Libra only would be created through purchases with dollars and other currencies that an association based in Switzerland would hold in reserve as bank deposits and high-quality bonds.

Photo courtesy of uditha wickramanayaka.

Source: MarketWatch (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance
Tags
cryptocurrency, fintech