Blockstack is having a big day today, launching the world’s maiden regulated token sale. So far, the deal appears to be a resounding success, with CoinList “experiencing heavy load” and “adding more server capacity.” Muneeb Ali, Blockstack CEO and Co-Founder, doesn’t seem to mind sharing the spotlight with another hot crypto-related project – Facebook’s Libra.
While the crypto community has had a mixed response to Libra, Ali is willing to go out on a limb for them despite the obvious privacy issues plaguing Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Ali is focused on the fact that Zuck and company are not at the helm, telling CNBC:
“[Overall] it’s a good development. I’m cautiously optimistic in the sense that Facebook the company has done certain things in the past that would make you distrust the company. But this team is new. I actually know the leadership team there. I think they have really good intentions and they’re trying to do the right thing.”
This may be true. Something he might want to consider, however, is the proverb which reminds us that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. How can you trust digital wallet Calibra whose creator sold his moral compass to the devil?
10 years from now will everyone be buying things with #BTC or $FB Libra? asks @JoeSquawk pic.twitter.com/zyRWHDIuAt
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 11, 2019
Will Libra Ever See the Light of Day?
Love it or hate it, Facebook’s Libra coin has gripped the nation. In fact, the sharp decline in the bitcoin price could be a result of policymakers becoming spooked at the prospect of Facebook getting into payments. Can you blame them? Yesterday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell pointed to “many serious concerns” surrounding Libra.
This has inspired the question of whether Libra will ever really be launched at all. Bitwise Asset Management CEO Hunter Horsley told Bloomberg he “wouldn’t e surprised if we don’t see it as it’s currently architected in 2020.”
It is a valid question that might be worth a wager on Augur or another blockchain-based prediction market platform.
Just caught up with comments from @federalreserve Chairman Powell at his @FSCDems Hearing, and I fully agree that legitimate concerns about @Libra_ should be addressed carefully and patiently, and that it shouldn’t be rushed. This is why we shared plans early.
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) July 10, 2019
Libra Effect
eToro Senior Analyst Mati Greenspan points out that the Fed Chair’s remarks coincided with yesterday’s drop in the bitcoin price, a decline that continues into today. Greenspan said in the eToro daily market commentary:
“Whether connected or not, we may never know, but the drop in bitcoin yesterday definitely happened on the heels of the Fed Chair’s comments. The purple circle here shows the exact moment that the Fed addressed the Libra situation.”
While the fate of Facebook’s Libra may be up in the air, Blockstack’s future is looking rather bright given the hoops it was willing to jump through for its regulated token sale.