> Given that it seems like Libra wants to be an actual currency and comply with pretty much the demands of a national currency, which is to say stability, availability of monetary policy, features to clamp down on terrorism finance and compliance with domestic law, wouldn't it be much more sensible to elevate this entire project from Facebook to a national one?
Having it tied to the US dollar would be a huge pain. Many of us live elsewhere and use other currencies; also using dollars brings in a huge regulatory regime that people may not want to be involve with (e.g. if buying/selling Libra means I have to file a US tax return then it's a non-starter for me).
> Get more economists on board to design the institutional infrastructure, people to get the legal compliance right, and then make it the e-dollar. (or something more global in cooperation with other states). Isn't this at the end of the day what people want out of this, the digital equivalent of a normal currency?
What are those people going to bring to the table that Facebook et al aren't already doing? They have a bunch of major payment networks involved, they've got the institutional connections and huge legal compliance departments already. Being tied to a particular national government would likely be more of a handicap than a help, as the project would then be exposed to much bigger political considerations.
Having it tied to the US dollar would be a huge pain. Many of us live elsewhere and use other currencies; also using dollars brings in a huge regulatory regime that people may not want to be involve with (e.g. if buying/selling Libra means I have to file a US tax return then it's a non-starter for me).
> Get more economists on board to design the institutional infrastructure, people to get the legal compliance right, and then make it the e-dollar. (or something more global in cooperation with other states). Isn't this at the end of the day what people want out of this, the digital equivalent of a normal currency?
What are those people going to bring to the table that Facebook et al aren't already doing? They have a bunch of major payment networks involved, they've got the institutional connections and huge legal compliance departments already. Being tied to a particular national government would likely be more of a handicap than a help, as the project would then be exposed to much bigger political considerations.