Christian Catalini, co-creator of Libra and chief economist at Calibra, explains why Facebook made the design choices it made for Libra, reveals whether the team was prepared for the regulatory blowback it received after publishing the white paper, and talks about what it means for Libra now that nearly all the initial payment company members have left the Association. He describes how Facebook defined stability for Libra, whether the Chinese renminbi could ever be added to the reserve the way it is part of the IMF special drawing rights basket, and if so, what the Libra or Calibra would do if the Chinese government tried to censor individuals or transactions in the system. We also cover the tension between the desire to have strong know-your-customer and anti-money laundering processes on the platform but then also to bank the unbanked, who often don't have strong government identification. We also discuss how Facebook will make money from Calibra, what it would take for Facebook to let the Libra Association go forward without it, and why Facebook, which not too long ago was trying to woo China to enter the Chinese market, now says it is the best counterweight to a Chinese digital yuan. Plus, he answers how Facebook and Calibra will handle privacy.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.com/
Kraken: https://www.kraken.com/
CipherTrace: http://ciphertrace.com/unchained
Episode links:
Christian Catalini: https://twitter.com/ccatalini
Libra: https://libra.org/en-US/
Calibra: https://calibra.com/
Libra white paper: https://libra.org/en-US/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/06/LibraWhitePaper_en_US.pdf
Letters to payment companies from Congress: https://www.schatz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Signed%20Letters%20re%20Libra%20to%20Patrick%20Collison,%20Ajaypal%20Banga,%20and%20Alfred%20Kelly.pdf
Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in front of Congress: https://www.c-span.org/video/?465293-1/facebook-ceo-testimony-house-financial-services-committee
Reported breakdown of the Libra reserve: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-libra-basket/u-s-dollar-to-be-main-currency-underpinning-facebooks-libra-spiegel-idUSKBN1W522K
Calibra — can send money at low to no cost: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/06/coming-in-2020-calibra/
Chargebacks in Libra: https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/18/18682838/facebook-digital-wallet-calibra-libra-cryptocurrency-kevin-weil-david-marcus-interview
Asian central banks not too open to Libra: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-10-22/facebook-scaling-back-libra-will-please-asian-central-banks
Unconfirmed interview about UN work with blockchain-based vouchers: https://unchainedpodcast.com/the-un-world-food-programmes-blockchain-based-food-vouchers-for-syrian-refugees-with-robert-opp/
SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case - Ep. 551
The Chopping Block: Which DeFi Metrics Are Still Useful in a Bear Market? - Ep. 550
Here’s How Sam Bankman-Fried’s High-Stakes Trial Could Play Out - Ep 549
Why All 10,000 OnChainMonkey NFTs Will Move From Ethereum to Bitcoin - Ep. 548
Why FTX Might Try to Claw Back Funds From Retail Customers- Ep. 547
The Chopping Block: Will Warren of 0x on Its Settlement With the CFTC - Ep. 546
Zeke Faux's Crypto Adventures and His Relationship With Former FTX CEO SBF - Ep. 545
With Execs Leaving and Market Share Declining, Can Binance Survive? - Ep. 544
Jeremy Allaire on Circle's ‘Multi-Decade’ Strategy and Where Stablecoin Regulation Is Headed - Ep. 543
Could This Vitalik-Backed Protocol Bring Privacy to a Regulated Crypto World? - Ep. 542
The Chopping Block: Why Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Is So Optimistic About Stablecoins' Future - Ep. 541
Friend.tech: The Legal and Tax Ins and Outs of This Year’s Hottest Crypto App - Ep. 540
Does Grayscale’s Win Against the SEC Mean a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Be Approved? - Ep. 539
The Chopping Block: Coinbase’s Paul Grewal on Why the SEC Is Going After Crypto So Aggressively - Ep. 538
Oracles: Does the Backbone of DeFi Need Fixing? - Ep. 537
Is This the End of DeFi? Why the US Government Is Going After Tornado Cash - Ep. 536
The Chopping Block: All About That Base With Jesse Pollak - Ep. 535
Can Maker’s Rune Christensen Fix the Sad State of DAO Governance? - Ep. 534
SBF Behind Bars: Why Revoked Bail Is a Big Deal for Crypto’s Biggest Trial - Ep. 533
The Chopping Block: How Wintermute Avoids ‘Zombie’ Exchanges, Base’s Early Success, Bank Fraud in the AI Era - Ep. 532
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Pharmacy Podcast Network
Børsen Morgenbriefing
Sarah Westall - Business Game Changers
The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes
Wall Street Breakfast