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> If Libra launches successfully and remains stable, those same places selling X MB of data for cash, could easily start selling Libra too. Why couldn’t they s

> If Libra launches successfully and remains stable, those same places selling X MB of data for cash, could easily start selling Libra too. Why couldn’t they sell prepaid Visa cards, or Venmo/PayPal (or whatever is the local equivalent) top-ups? I get that having access to brokers that will sell a globally recognized hard currency for local cash is super useful, especially if it’s in electronic form. I don’t get why it’s useful for it to be a blockchain, or why Facebook is the most likely company to run it successfully. When I ask people this the answer seems to be some hand-waving about regulation, but if this is hard for Venmo and PayPal to offer because of regulation, why would throwing around the word “blockchain” magically make it any easier for Facebook?

um_ya 7y ago
It won't. Unless Facebook decides to ditch KYC and compete with government currencies themselves, it won't help anyone.
- jacobush 7y ago
  You put that beyond them?
seventhtiger 7y ago
Selling prepaid visas misses the point. The issue is not that those in poverty in developing nations can't spend their money. The issue is that they can't receive my money. It's more important that I can buy a lot of Libra and hire them, and they can cash out or use it directly.
- the_seraphim 7y ago
  This, there's no safe way to send cash to 3rd world countries... bitcoin has no KYC policies. I can see a benefit to using Libra for this.
richrichardsson 7y ago
I tried using a pre-paid card to buy something online a few years back: it didn't work, was specifically declined for being a pre-paid card (I don't recall what it was I was trying to purchase, but perhaps that may have some bearing on why it was declined if the reason was they don't want to sell certain things to potentially anonymous persons).
- gruez 7y ago
  I've never had prepaid cards declined for physical items. Abusable SaaS (hosting, email sending, telephone gateways) is another story.

um_ya 7y ago

It won't. Unless Facebook decides to ditch KYC and compete with government currencies themselves, it won't help anyone.

jacobush 7y ago
You put that beyond them?

seventhtiger 7y ago

Selling prepaid visas misses the point. The issue is not that those in poverty in developing nations can't spend their money. The issue is that they can't receive my money. It's more important that I can buy a lot of Libra and hire them, and they can cash out or use it directly.

the_seraphim 7y ago
This, there's no safe way to send cash to 3rd world countries... bitcoin has no KYC policies. I can see a benefit to using Libra for this.

richrichardsson 7y ago

I tried using a pre-paid card to buy something online a few years back: it didn't work, was specifically declined for being a pre-paid card (I don't recall what it was I was trying to purchase, but perhaps that may have some bearing on why it was declined if the reason was they don't want to sell certain things to potentially anonymous persons).

gruez 7y ago
I've never had prepaid cards declined for physical items. Abusable SaaS (hosting, email sending, telephone gateways) is another story.