Ever since Facebook’s cryptocurrency Project Libra was announced, it has faced multiple issues even before going public. Adding to the same bunch of problems, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company is now accused of stealing the cryptocurrency idea from an MIT fellow.
It is suggested that the views of the Facebook Libra cryptocurrency and the ones by MIT guys — Alex Lipton, Thomas Hardjono and Alex “Sandy” Pentland — on Trade Coin are so similar, it can’t be a coincidence.
Facebook Libra Accusations
As both coins hold some similarities, Lipton has suggested that Facebook has lifted many traits from their paper on Trade Coin and has not mentioned MIT fellows anywhere at all.
The Trade Coin paper was published in the Royal Society’s Open Science publication last year.
Libra and Trade Coin Similarities
As per Lipton, both Libra and Trade Coin cryptocurrencies come with a vision of easy and convenient transactions, both on local as well as cross-border platforms. Additionally, both currencies aim to provide financial services to developing countries.
In addition to this, Libra and Trade Coin are both backed by various assets, except the latter’s assets involve commodities like oil or crops.
Suggested Problems With Libra
Apart from accusing Facebook of stealing the Libra idea, Alex Lipton has even ridiculed the Facebook-owned Libra cryptocurrency, suggesting that it will be “issued in a non-immunized fashion” which is one of the major problems with Libra. It is further suggested that the Libra cryptocurrency will result in inflation in developing countries.
There’s More
The accusation and suggested issues are just one aspect of Project Libra; the crypto project by Facebook seems to have security concerns as well.
The US Treasury Secretary suggested that cryptocurrencies like Libra could lead to various illegal activities such as terrorism. Hence, the project is advised to take a halt.
As the new project by Facebook seems to be around a lot of controversies, it remains to be seen how it manages to do well in the arena.
