Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra to threaten traditional banks

The launch of Libra, a digital currency, by social media giant Facebook is a threat to traditional banking, according to a finance and investment expert.

Facebook said it will launch Libra next year. Facebook has announced that it has partnered with PayPal, Mastercard, Visa and Stripe to boost acceptance of its digital currency. According to Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of financial advisers, the deVere Group, Facebook’s move into cryptocurrencies will speed the decline of traditional banking. He commented: “Cryptocurrencies and fintech (financial technology) solutions are already taking business away from banks. They are filling a gap left by the traditional way of doing things as the world speeds up and becomes increasingly globalised and digitalised. The jump into cryptocurrencies – which are the future of money – by Facebook which already has 2.7 billion users can really only be seen as another nail in the coffin for banks.”

Green added that the entry of tech giants into the cryptocurrency sector shows that the sector has now become mainstream and will accelerate the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. “This is set to revolutionise how people access, manage and use money across the world and it will positively disturb the wider banking sector. Banking as we have known it until now is coming to an end,” he commented.