Mark Cuban 'Not a Big Fan' of Facebook's Libra

Mark Cuban, billionaire “Shark Tank” co-host, raised concerns about Libra’s potential to disrupt global finance when speaking to CNBC on July 12.

Cuban referred to the Menlo Park-based social networking company’s foray into distributed ledger tech as a “big mistake.” He continued to discuss the danger of introducing a destabilizing force into already unstable economies or political situations around the world. The Dallas Mavericks owner cited specifically:

“Some despot in some African country that gets really upset that they can’t control their currency anymore.”

Facebook’s project is intended to be a global initiative, a means to extend financial services and access to the more than 1.7 billion unbanked people around the world.

The Libra Association writes in their white paper:

“All over the world, people with less money pay more for financial services. Hard-earned income is eroded by fees, from remittances and wire costs to overdraft and ATM charges… When people are asked why they remain on the fringe of the existing financial system, those who remain “unbanked” point to not having sufficient funds, high and unpredictable fees, banks being too far away, and lacking the necessary documentation.”

Cuban suggests he is “not a big fan” of Libra because of the potential, reactionary impacts of extending financial access to the underrepresented. “That’s where the real problems start occurring,” he said.

Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

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