Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency has a really high ambition, to disrupt the entire finance world. However, this is not something that is possible according to numerous blockchain experts. It is said that the blockchain technology behind Libra is not suitable to get that done.
There were different technical documents that were released, together with the testnet protocol that can be used by specialists to see the platform used. Basically, specialists are not convinced about the claims that Libra makes.
Tamas Blummer, Bitcoin developer, stood out as he offered the worst assessment of the protocol. He practically said that Facebook abuses the position it is in with the purpose of muscling into blockchain. He was quoted as saying:
Trying to buy leadership in a cutting edge technology is very expensive and likely futile. I am pretty certain that this will be a very expensive failure, but a great door opener for Bitcoin.
Blummer went on to say that the blockchain technology behind Libra is much more similar to what Ethereum offers than Bitcoin. This includes features like a PBFT form and sharding. It is possible that Libra can kill Ripple and Ethereum according to the specialist. His words were:
Libra resembles Ethereum more than Bitcoin. It contains all the features that make Ethereum garbage. Account model, generic language, gas, on-chain scaling with sharding, some BFT consensus. In addition it has to implement all KCY and AML. A sure disaster in slow motion.
Jameson Lopp, Bitcoin educator and engineer, had less harsh words about Libra. He wrote a post on Medium in which he did agree that the protocol used by Libra is similar to that of Ethereum. Lopp declared that he thinks the protocol of Libra tries to be a Proof of Stake model, which is similar to what Ethereum is planning. However, he is skeptical about the ability of the project to solve problems the Ethereum team had to deal with until now. There is no proof that Facebook solved any of them with what they try to launch.
While various things can be said about the viability of Libra, what most of the cryptocurrency experts out there agree with is the fact that Libra is not really a blockchain. According to the above mentioned Lopp, the protocol is impressive and proficient, but it is not a blockchain. He said:
This protocol seems to be very well designed… but “The Libra Blockchain” is not actually a blockchain… There is no actual blockchain data structure in the Libra protocol.
When looking at technical standards, numerous specialists agree that Libra is not blockchain but the fact that Facebook refers to it as being such has a positive impact on the industry. Words like blockchain and cryptocurrency are being embraced. The giant social network is practically bringing legitimacy to the entire industry. This is a huge step forward but what will happen is something that we still need to see. There seem to be numerous problems associated with Libra at the moment.
