Facebook's David Marcus: Libra Crypto Users Won't Have to Trust Us

Facebook's David Marcus is pushing back against concerns about the social media giant's new cryptocurrency project, Libra.

In Wednesday's post, Marcus sought to address a number of issues that have been raised by lawmakers and informed observers alike, including whether Libra is actually decentralized, why there isn't a charter in place for the Libra Association and whether Libra can actually address financial inclusion.

"And Facebook won't have any special responsibility over the Libra Network. But we hope that people will respond favorably to the Calibra wallet. We've been clear about our approach to financial data separation and we will live up to our commitments and work hard to deliver real utility."

Facebook published a white paper and supporting documentation for Libra last month, but was immediately met with pushback from regulators worldwide.

Under various subheadings, Marcus addressed complaints about the project, including concerns that Libra would not be able to bank individuals who are currently under- or unbanked, as well as concerns about Facebook's track record on consumer data protection.

"People will have many ways in which to use Libra and access the network," he said.

The company's profit model for Libra would come from any commerce that occurs across its family of apps by ensuring that ads are more effective and advertisers are more motivated to buy space on Facebook's platforms, he said.

While Libra will be controlled by a small number of entities at launch, it will gradually decentralize over time, he said.

Facebook, which is one of 28 founding members for the Libra Association - the governing association which will be responsible for overseeing the Libra network after it launches - will ultimately have the same amount of power over the network that its other launch associates will have, Marcus said.

Each of the founding members will be a part of setting up the Libra Association's governance rules and "Other key decisions," as part of an effort to limit the amount of power Facebook has over the network, he claimed.