Facebook, Libra & the Thrilling Rise of the Branded Cryptocurrency

The rise of Facebook’s Libra project ushers in a new era for fintech and heralds the rise of the “branded cryptocurrency.” | Source: Shutterstock

It was hard not to feel compassion for Libra chief David Marcus, watching him deal with angry questioning in Congress two weeks ago. The level of distrust in Facebook has reached new highs – some of the Congressmen and Senators replaced questions with blunt criticism aimed at Marcus and the big blue company. Even Marcus, it felt, must have been surprised by the sheer cacophony of fear, uncertainty, and doubt that he had to sit through as he defended Facebook’s crypto plans.

Meanwhile, Facebook did exactly what you would expect it to. If the whitepaper prepared by Marcus and his team, stretching to a good 100 pages, filled with numerous sensible proposals about how Facebook should not be in power (my italics) wasn’t enough to appease Congress and the public, Marcus’ considerate and calm responses should have been. “You will not have…