I’m in the “not well” camp. But then again I’ve yet to see any useful legal application of blockchain, let alone cryptocurrency.

Keen to hear Wilmott forum thoughts on how this story might play out

#MeToo And I hate to say it about any Zuckerbing's idea but I think Libra deserves its own thread here on Wilmott (the website, not the man).
BTW 3 questions hic et nunc to Wilmott experts:
(A) How can a stable coin (oxymoron?) be back to real currencies?
(B) Can the establishment of the Calibra subsidiary in Switzerland have an impact on CHF? What would it (that impact) be (bull? bear?) if the Libra were to be a success (one never knows)?
(C) Isn't there a "tension" between the decentralization principles of blockchain (and the like) on the first hand and Libra that will be controlled by a handful of (large) private companies on the other one?

Interestingly, the backing by real assets to make it a stablecoin presents a regulatory issue: is Libra a security? 

I will guess the SEC will answer 'yes' and the CFTC will not object because they really don't want to regulate it. But, since there is not the manipulation objection that seems to knock down bitcoin-backed-securities (like ETFs), I will also guess the SEC will mull it over for a while and then tentatively approve it.  Then will come the 200 page prospectus, enriching all the lawyers. Be sure to read it before paying for your pizza.  

BTW, BTC just hit $10,750. Seems like Libra must be driving a lot of the enthusiasm. Now (counting all the alt-coins), we have n+1 solutions in search of problems. Well, it's certainly fun to watch.

Good article in today's WSJ (paywall): Facebook’s Libra Is a License to Print Money (James Mackintosh). From the article:

The reserve isn’t quite as great as it seems, though. Like a money-market fund Libra has no capital and no deposit insurance, so any drop in the value of the reserves should mean the value of Libra falls. Losses from fraud, mismanagement or default within the reserve fall on Libra holders, unlike with a normal bank account or bank note.

Worse still, the founders of Libra have a terrible incentive structure. If the reserve can be run to have capital losses but a high cash yield, the losses lie with the Libra holders while the profits go to the founders. Buy an old bond issued when yields were higher, and the price will be above face value. That generates a capital loss at maturity offset by coupons well above more recent issues.

Do you trust Facebook and the big corporations and venture capitalists on the governing board not to misuse a license to print money? If so, no problem.

As per previous post, the SEC really needs to classify this coin as a security -- as it definitely needs a prospectus.

This would kill its use for micropayments though.

I think that Cryptocurrencies will change the way of doing operations on the web .. And they will not die in their attempt.

I think that Cryptocurrencies will change the way of doing operations on the web .. And they will not die in their attempt.

Maybe you can share some of your arguments with us?

I am not very good at this cryptocurrency. I studied it but I ordered my coursework here that time and I don't really have any deep knowledge at this sphere but I think other people on this forum are right. 

Good forecasting on Libra so far - seems to have been a trigger for making central banks shift gears on the topic.

Trading and Arbitrage in the Cryptocurrency Markets - something to read on market structure

Facebook's digital currency dealt another blow
"In a blow to the social media giant, the world's biggest economies warned cryptocurrencies such as Libra pose a risk to the global financial system.

The draft report outlines nine major risks posed by such digital currencies."

President of Crypto Capital arrested in alleged money laundering operation
The guy runs a not sophisticated at all cryptocurrency laundering enterprise, and it takes 6 years to stop him (he was arrested in Greece earlier this year in fact, but opposed the extradition to his citizenship country).
More related people and company names here: https://decrypt.co/6824/crypto-capital- ... up-article

Cautionary story for investors: Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished
My experience with one of the London unis taught me not to attach too much value to people's diplomas, even if from Oxford (a talented scientist can turn out to be a talented sneaky cheater, often protected by influential partners in crime).

Cautionary story for investors: Cryptoqueen: How this woman scammed the world, then vanished
My experience with one of the London unis taught me not to attach too much value to people's diplomas, even if from Oxford (a talented scientist can turn out to be a talented sneaky cheater, often protected by influential partners in crime).

That was fascinating! Amusing and amazing -- a crypto that forgot to create a blockchain. There was some online service, if I recall, that could fork a new crypto off of the bitcoin blockchain in about 20 minutes. But, the OneCoin target audience had no clue until the scam was exposed. 

Bitcoin itself is similarly "cultish", but at least it is legit -- in the sense of the technology claims. But, there is likely much manipulation in offshore exchanges, which should be deeply troubling to bitcoin so-called investors, but apparently isn't. Or more likely, they hope it is manipulated in their favor and then they will sell to the greater fools. Good luck with that ...  

Pretty troubling that UK authorities seem remarkably uninterested. Given the magnitude of the scam and UK-presence, why aren't there a zillion arrest warrants issued already? The article documents a lot of fraud, false financial flings, etc. etc. Background on reddit

Bitcoin is an endless source of amusement indeed

I had some insight into the cryptocurrency phenomenon over the last 2 years (I did a little project in cybersecurity). One doesn't need to be a genius to hack/steal them. The infrastructure is often built by mediocre programmers, and not properly tested, typically leaving lots of API bugs to exploit. Another, bigger, problem is phishing, often elaborate enough to wind up even a cautious user.
They sometimes catch them - see the case of the biggest (but not singular, as you noticed) Bitcoin theft by two young Israelis
However, classic mixing is a perfect crime: you split the money between lots of accounts, whose users (posts) exchange them for standard currencies and transfer into designated accounts. Since the operation is large-scale, it's impossible to connect all such cases (often even within the same country) given how our law enforcement systems work, and even it they managed to do that, they have a bunch of fries who don't have any useful information about the hacker.