The crypto and blockchain hedge fund Pantera Capital says it believes Facebook’s Libra will have a “large net positive effect on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.”
In a new investment letter, Pantera CEO Dan Morehead says Facebook’s effort is an impressive attempt to create a stable digital asset.
“I am particularly impressed with the SDR-type basket the Facebook team decided on to back the tokens. It’s not wildly fluctuating, nor is it pegged to a single country’s currency. Libra will be fully collateralized with four of the oldest, most stable currencies:  the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the Euro, and the Japanese yen.”
Detractors, however, point out that Libra is backed by powerful companies, merely displacing centralized financial services that are in the hands of the banking elite with similar services shifting into the hands of big tech.
Despite the intense scrutiny surrounding Libra, Pantera points to Facebook’s global reach as a core strength of the project which it equates with a similar effort made by the International Monetary Fund 50 years ago.
“The IMF created Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as an international reserve currency in 1969. (This year is the 50th anniversary of the SDR.)  It comprises a basket of fiat currencies weighted by relative importance within the world’s trading and financial systems. However, it never really was used because nobody could transact in it. Libra is designed to be used.”
According to Pantera, Libra also addresses complaints about US dollar hegemony by offering a solution that pushes the global financial system trajectory towards a more inclusive and technologically advanced system.
“We believe that the launch of Libra will have a large net positive effect on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Increased competition will breed the strongest networks that provide real benefits to society – there isn’t one right way to achieve this. Just as cryptocurrency may be the next evolution in finance, there will be evolutions within cryptocurrency itself. The approach described in the Libra whitepaper walks a tightrope between two extremes – and potentially creates the best of both worlds.”
You can check out the full investor letter here.
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