Facebook sent shockwaves through the world of finance this week with its vision to create ‘Libra’ – “a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people”.
The underlying proposition is right: digital currencies have the potential to foster positive innovation, widen access to financial services, and give people greater control over their money. And our monetary system – increasingly in the grip of a tiny group of banks and card companies – is ripe for disruption and reform.
But ceding even greater power to a self-selecting cartel of tech companies is not the answer.
