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"But since Libra pegged is to a basket of currencies, it is not actually stable." A weighted basket of the top 5 currencies by market capitalization should be

"But since Libra pegged is to a basket of currencies, it is not actually stable." A weighted basket of the top 5 currencies by market capitalization should be more stable than the dollar. The point about taxable income is true, although if I would rather pay tax on income I made from Libra than not had earned the income at all. Unless the dollar crashes hard I wouldn't expect this to be a meaningful amount of income.

fnord77 7y ago
The pound Sterling is the #4 currency. It has not been stable, it has been losing value against the dollar like crazy
berns 7y ago
> Nobody wants to receive $10 from a friend only to have it turn into $9.80. The author thinks that the USD is the unmovable absolute and it's everything else that changes in relation to it.
- aaronharnly 7y ago
  I think the point is more profound than that — for all the reasons that local currencies are useful (and the flowering of many cryptocurrencies has happened), one’s local national currency is itself an incredibly useful thing to have. If your friend is in the same country or currency zone as you, which statistically they are very likely to be, a national stablecoin is more useful than one that drifts. (Conversely, for international remittances, an international basket stablecoin might indeed be a useful thing to have!)
- forgottenpass 7y ago
  No. The author thinks people anchor value assessment in their local currency without factoring in short term currency fluctations. Which they do.
freeone3000 7y ago
It may be some people's only capital gain, especially considering the Libra target audience, which might greatly complicate taxes for those with US citizenship. It's not just the amount of money you make/lose through the forex.
adyus 7y ago
Hey, that already exists (at nation-level): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rights

fnord77 7y ago

The pound Sterling is the #4 currency. It has not been stable, it has been losing value against the dollar like crazy

berns 7y ago

> Nobody wants to receive $10 from a friend only to have it turn into $9.80. The author thinks that the USD is the unmovable absolute and it's everything else that changes in relation to it.

aaronharnly 7y ago
I think the point is more profound than that — for all the reasons that local currencies are useful (and the flowering of many cryptocurrencies has happened), one’s local national currency is itself an incredibly useful thing to have. If your friend is in the same country or currency zone as you, which statistically they are very likely to be, a national stablecoin is more useful than one that drifts. (Conversely, for international remittances, an international basket stablecoin might indeed be a useful thing to have!)
forgottenpass 7y ago
No. The author thinks people anchor value assessment in their local currency without factoring in short term currency fluctations. Which they do.

freeone3000 7y ago

It may be some people's only capital gain, especially considering the Libra target audience, which might greatly complicate taxes for those with US citizenship. It's not just the amount of money you make/lose through the forex.

adyus 7y ago

Hey, that already exists (at nation-level): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rights