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來源于《商業(yè)》版塊
Facebook
臉書
Coin flip
拋硬幣
The social network’s grand designs for virtual cash could be surprisingly consequential—including for itself
這家社交網(wǎng)絡對虛擬現(xiàn)金的宏偉設計可能會產(chǎn)生令人驚訝的結果——包括對它自己
A global digital currency would make sending money across the world as easy as texting. It would do away with fees, delays and other barriers to the flow of cash. It might give those in less developed countries access to the financial system and a means to protect hard-earned wages against runaway inflation. It could trigger a wave of innovation in finance, much as the internet did in online services.
一種全球數(shù)字貨幣將使向世界各地匯款變得像發(fā)短信一樣容易。它將消除費用、延誤和其他阻礙現(xiàn)金流動的障礙。這種數(shù)字貨幣可能會使欠發(fā)達國家的人成功進入金融體系，并保護辛苦掙來的工資不受失控通脹的影響。還可能像聯(lián)網(wǎng)在線服務一樣引發(fā)金融領域的一波創(chuàng)新浪潮。
That, in a nutshell, is what Facebook promised on June 18th. Within a year, the social network will launch a new currency to be known as Libra, in honour of an ancient Roman unit of mass—it is also the word for “pound” in many romance languages. Inevitably, Facebook dished out a generous helping of trendy words like crypto and blockchain. Unable to contain its appetite for Silicon Valley platitudes, Facebook claimed that its mission was to “empower billions of people”. Making money or strengthening its market power are, apparently, a sideshow.
簡而言之，這就是6月18日臉書做出的承諾。在一年內(nèi)，這家社交網(wǎng)站將推出一種名為“天秤幣（Libra）”的新貨幣，命名為紀念古羅馬的一個質(zhì)量單位——在許多羅曼語中，“Libra”也是“磅”的意思。不可避免地，F(xiàn)acebook創(chuàng)造了不少諸如crypto（加密）和blockchain（區(qū)塊鏈）等時髦詞匯。由于無法抑制自己對硅谷陳詞濫調(diào)的胃口，F(xiàn)acebook宣稱其使命是“賦予數(shù)十億人權力”。 顯然，賺錢或增強其市場實力只是一個次要事件。
Notwithstanding the guff, the commercial potential is indeed significant—as are the potential problems. If each of Facebook’s 2.4bn users converted a slice of their savings into Libras, it could become a widely circulated currency. It could also, if broadly adopted, vest unprecedented power in the hands of its issuer. In a tacit acknowledgment that its mishandling of user data, tolerance of the spread of misinformation and other sins have devalued its stock with policymakers, users and potential partners—though not investors—Facebook wants to outsource the running of Libra to a consortium of worthies recruited from the world of finance, technology and NGOs. The consequences for the global financial system could be significant. So could the impact on Facebook’s business.
盡管是些廢話，但商業(yè)潛力確實很重要——潛在的問題也是如此。如果臉書24億用戶中的每一位都將自己的一部分儲蓄轉為天秤幣，天秤幣可能會成為一種廣泛流通的貨幣。如果廣泛使用，發(fā)行者還能得到前所未有的權力。默認其對用戶數(shù)據(jù)的處理不當，容忍錯誤信息的傳播和其他錯誤使其股票在政策制定者、用戶和潛在合作伙伴(盡管不是投資者)眼中貶值，在這種眾所周知的情況下，臉書希望將天秤幣的運營外包給一個財團，由來自金融界、科技界和非政府組織的知名人士組成。這對全球金融體系可能產(chǎn)生重大影響。也可能對臉書的業(yè)務產(chǎn)生重大影響。
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