Second Issue - July 7, 2019
Welcome to the second issue of The Libra Informer.
I am pleased to say this newsletter has grown quite a bit in just one week. In fact, without revealing any names, I can share that at least one CEO of a prominent blockchain company is subscribed to us. Clearly there is an interest in what is going on in the Libra ecosystem.
Over the past week, a bunch of new features have been added. We now have two new sections: one that covers business use of the Libra and another that covers any upcoming events. Additionally, to help community members and aspiring Libra developers, The Libra Informer has put together an actively-curated list of resources, developer’s tools, early projects, and more. Ideally, management of this list will be handed over to the community once it grows. So please check it out when you have the chance.
In any case, here is the content you’ve been looking forward to. And remember, if you like this newsletter, please subscribe and share it with your friends, colleagues, associates, that random Twitter troll, etc.
Top News
The Week’s most important news announcements.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services sent a letter to Facebook formally calling on the company to cease all development on the Libra “until regulators and Congress have an opportunity to examine [important concerns and issues] and take action.”
Editor’s note: The House can’t actually stop anyone from developing Libra’s code by asking them to stop. But it can draft legislation that would make life for Facebook rather… unpleasant. Those hearings on July 16 and 17 will be interesting to watch.
Relatedly, an unnamed House Democratic aide spoke to The American Prospect, sharing his/her take on a briefing to Congressional staffers by executives developing the Libra. The general reaction from the staffers: skepticism.
In response to what is being said on Congress (and elsewhere), Libra co-founder and head of Calibra David Marcus posted an open letter on Facebook in response to various queries and concerns. He also writes that the team “made the deliberate decision to announce the plans for Libra early. […] Our rationale was simple: We wanted to encourage open discussion by design.”
News and Analysis
General Libra-related news, along with more in-depth analyses from a variety of sources.
Still unsure what the Libra is or how it works? Xavier Lavayssière, an independent researcher on blockchain and regulation, has put together an impressive 40-page plus report on the Libra entitled the Libra Compendium. Available in English and in French, you can get it here.
In a Sunday interview with the Financial Times, Agustín Carstens, the head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), commented that central banks may have to issue their own digital currencies sooner than they expected, motivated in part as a reaction to the Libra. Relatedly, the BIS is setting up a FinTech Hub to assistant central banks in understanding financial technology, cryptocurrencies, and even creating Central Bank Digital Currencies.
Karen Webster, founder and CEO of PYMNTS, breaks down the differences between Facebook’s Messenger and Tencent’s WeChat—and how the Libra fits into this.
Lawrence H. White, a professor of economics at George Mason University, analyzes the Libra and points out that, in many ways, it resembles a mutual fund. If that is the case, he notes, then it cannot be offered to the broader public without going through registration, listing on security exchanges, and so forth.
A survey carried out by the investment bank Jefferies, shared with The Block, reveals that most U.S. social media users are unlikely to buy the Libra. Notable concerns: lack of trust in Facebook and users already have favored mobile payment wallets. The bank believes that incentives will be necessary to foster usage of the Libra.
Business (New!)
Announcements and news about businesses that are integrating the Libra and the Libra blockchain, or are otherwise making use of it.
Unibright, a company that provides a unified framework for blockchain-based business integration, announced that it will integrate the Libra into its framework.
Cryptocurrency wallets/payments processors are experimenting with the Libra testnet—a possible sign that they might add the Libra in the future. The CTO of Utrust and the co-founder of Bidal, for example, have both shown examples of what this would look like.
Association
News about the Libra Association’s members. This includes new members, members’ work on the Libra, and notable organizations that have expressed interest in joining the Association.
So who will be running the Libra Association at the start? That is what The Block sought to answer, and found that Bertrand Perez, the now former Senior Director for Payments Engineering at PayPal, has been appointed as Managing Director and COO of the Libra Association.
PYMNTS spoke with some of the Association’s members, including Jorn Lambert (executive vice president of digital solutions, Mastercard), Stephanie Phair (chief strategy officer, Farfetch), and Tom Jones (chief operating officer, Women’s World Banking).
Regulatory
The latest regulatory pronouncements and events that affect the Libra.
Regulators have been asleep on the wheel when it comes to cryptocurrencies, and it is time to wake up. At least, thats the gist of what European Central bank board member Benoit Coeure said in an interview with Bloomberg in reaction to the Libra. Specifically, Coeure said that “All these projects are a rather useful wake-up call for regulators and public authorities, as they encourage us to raise a number of questions and might make us improve the way we do things.”
In an interview with the magazine L’Obs, the governor of France’s central bank, François Villeroy de Galhau, echoes the comments of fellow central bank figures that Libra’s plans will be carefully examined.
Christopher Woolard, the executive director of strategy and competition at the Financial Conduct Authority (the UK’s financial regulator), stated that the issues raised by the Libra will “require deep thought and detail,” and that the Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things” is a liability in this sector.
Officials at the Bank of Japan have also expressed concern at the Libra, with one official saying that it “piggybacking for free on a financial system that takes heavy costs.”
In a bit of a surprise, Russian deputy finance minister Alexei Moisseev said that the Libra will not be banned outright. (Link in Russian). Moisseev added, however, that it will be treated like any other cryptocurrency, hinting that the Libra will not be recognized as traditional legal tender.
Public Citizen, a U.S. consumer rights group, published an open letter filled issues and concerns concerning the Libra. The letter, co-signed by over 30 privacy and consumer watchdog groups, calls for a moratorium on the development of the Libra until these profound questions are addressed.
Editor’s note: I wouldn’t be surprised if the questions that Public Citizen raises are repeated verbatim at the hearings before the U.S. Congress later this month. They’re quite precise.
According to Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette, Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal face a regulatory “heavy burden” because of their involvement with the Libra. The hearings before the U.S. Congress this month, he believes, are the “only one chance” to frame the debate, and will be critical to determining whether the Libra lives or dies.
The U.S. SEC is in the market for a subscription source for blockchain data, with the information coming directly from hosted nodes.
Editor’s note: Just a stray thought right now, but could this be the first step in regulators eventually deciding that they too should run nodes to ensure public blockchains are properly policed? Could the SEC ask for access to the Libra’s nodes? 🤔
Developers
Where can you find some useful resources? What has the community has been working on? You can find all that and more here.
Now this is interesting: the announcement of Libracamp, a virtual accelerator for startups to build apps on the Libra blockchain. The Libra Informer has learned that this effort was put together Tomer Weiss (Co-founder and CEO, Jango Labs), Alon Shavit (Co-founder and CTO, Jango Labs), and Yonatan Ben Shimon (Partner, Quantum Capital), and that a number of angel investors (individuals and funds) have signed onto the initiative. So if you have a Libra-based startup idea or product, consider applying. You have from now until October 1. Anyone interested in learning more should head on over to their website and/or their telegram group.
ZenGo, a non-custodial crypto wallet, announced that it has put together a non-custodial proof-of-concept wallet for Libra as an alternative to Calibra. Using a threshold signature scheme, the wallet hides the complexity of private key management, making it much simpler for an ordinary person to use. You can view their source code here.
For your Career
Looking for a job in the Libra ecosystem? We’ll list opportunities as they become available.
Facebook’s Libra-focused subsidiary, Calibra, is looking for professionals to ramp up its efforts at developing the currency. There are currently 10 listings for data engineers and data scientists, amongst others.
Editor’s note: This is an increase of 4 jobs since last week. Looks like hiring season is here.
Facebook is also looking to fill numerous other positions as it seeks to ramp up its blockchain efforts, ranging from legal counsel to program managers.
Upcoming Events (New!)
Anything coming up related to the Libra that is happening near you? Check here to find out.
July 8, 6:30pm: CryptoMondays in Shanghai, China. Special event on the Libra, with a few VIPs attending. Limited seating!! See here for details.
July 16, 10am: U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Hearing. See their page for more information.
July 17, 10am: U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Hearing. See their page for more information.
July 24, 6:30pm: Thailand Libra Developer’s meeting. See their Facebook group for more information.
Community
Looking to join the Libra community? Are you a developer looking for guidance and collaborators to help build on the Libra ecosystem? Just want to talk about all things Libra? Search no more.
The Libra’s official forum. This the best place to ask questions, particularly since Calibra’s engineers check the more technical-oriented subforums every so often.
Thoughts on this newsletter and its content are welcome.
Suggestions for the newsletter, both in terms of content and structure, can be submitted to geheimnis086@gmail.com. Or you can find “Dunny” on the Libra developers’ Discord group.
A special thanks to Libra community member CasalettoJ/CircuitDev for his technical advice in composing this newsletter. He is working on a wallet for the Libra testnet.