Facebook’s Balance – The Libra Cryptocurrency

Recently, Facebook announced plans on their new cryptocurrency the Libra. In addition, they announced a partnership with over 20 other organizations and created the Libra Association to govern the new cryptocurrency. Information on the Libra cryptocurrency can be found on the Libra Association’s website: libra.org.

Although Facebook say the name is based on an ancient Roman unit of weight, we all know they based the name on the astrological sign. Not only is the name based on a astrological sign, but if you look at the logo they choose, it kind of looks like the Aquarius glyph too. It really seems like they wanted to associate this cryptocurrency with the astrology. And not everyone is happy about it, especially Libras.

Since I am an astrologer and a cryptocurrency miner, I am in a unique position to analyze Facebook’s plan for cryptocurrency. First I am going to analyze the Libra Association actually plan to create the Libra. Then I will look at the announcement chart for the event. Was Facebook upfront with their plans for entering finance? Does the chart indicated anything for the future? Will Facebook earn back the trust of skeptics who think their privacy protections are inadequate? The early reaction is no, very few people trust Facebook after the recent privacy scandals.

In fact governments around the world reacted with particular horror to the announcement. In the US, reaction from Congress has been surprising swift. Within two days of the announcement the US Senate has scheduled Banking Committee Hearing on July 16, 2019 on Libra (Source). In the US House, Rep. Maxine Walters (D-Calif.), chair of the US House Financial Services Committee is calling for a ”moratorium” on Libra’s development saying “We’ve got to protect our consumers. We just can’t allow them to go to Switzerland with all of its associates and begin to compete with the dollar.” (Source, emphasis added)

In order to understand what the Libra Association’s plan is, there are three main documents one needs to read:

• The general use 12 page introduction white paper: https://libra.org/en-US/white-paper/
• A 4 page paper on the Libra Association will set up its currency reserve: https://libra.org/en-US/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2019/06/TheLibraReserve_en_US.pdf
• The 29 page technical paper outlining the Libra Association’s plan in detail: https://developers.libra.org/docs/assets/papers/the-libra-blockchain.pdf

Or if you don’t have time to read 50 plus pages of material, please read Coindesk’s summary of what all these papers mean. It lays out in the plan in simple language and compares it other cryptocurrencies.

Taken together, Facebook & the Libra Association are planning a permission based blockchain with on-chain governance. They essential picked concepts from several different cryptocurrency and blockchain projects and combined them in a unique way. There are several things to like about this approach, but there are also some things I don’t like too.

What I like about the project is that is it is open source. Most cryptocurrency and blockchain projects are. This means that anyone can inspect the computer code for the project and use it without license fees. They can also modify and improve upon it on their own. There are so many cryptocurrency today because Bitcoin is open source and it allowed developers to take the source code and use it to create other cryptocurrencies similar to it. So any improvements to the blockchain made on Libra should find their way to other blockchains pretty quickly.

I also like the fact the Libra Association will create a new computer language Move. One thing I learned from studying the Ethereum blockchain is that most computer languages are not suitable to be placed on the blockchain in smart contract applications. This is why Ethereum’s development team chose Solidity for writing smart contract on their blockchain. The Libra blockchain will also have smart contract capability, so creating a new language with simplified syntax for blockchain specific applications is a good move.

I am more neutral about the how they plan to use only public-private key pairs on the blockchain. In most of the articles I read on this, they claim that the Libra protocol doesn’t link to your real world identity like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The blockchain will see only the public and private key pairs. An example of the public key for Bitcoin and Ethereum can be found on my Donate page. Public keys are the address one uses to send cryptocurrency to another person.

However, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, Libra will also be pseudo-anonymous. This means you can be tracked once someone finds a way to link your real identity with your public key. For example, on my Donate page is one of my Bitcoin public keys. Any can go on the Bitcoin’s blockchain and then track all of my transactions associated with it. An organization like Facebook or the US government would even be able to find other some of my other public keys, and then determine how much Bitcoin I have and possibility who I am sending it to.

So while this would seem like Facebook is adding privacy protections to the Libra, that is not really the case. The transactions would only be private if one downloads their stand alone wallet program Calibra. They are planning to integrate Calibra wallet directly into Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. I would expect when Calibra is integrated into these programs, Facebook would be able to write a separate script or program to link your wallet to your identity. This is not the optimal solution to tracking your transactions, but I would expect them to do so since they recently argued in in a US District Court, Facebook can’t invade a user’s privacy because users don’t have a right to privacy.

What I don’t like about there is the fact it is a stable coin and the governance structure. I’ll talk about the stablecoin first. A stable coin is a cryptocurrency that is pegged to another currency, usually the US dollar. Stable coins are inventions of bankers who want crypto assets that don’t fluctuate greatly because they can’t handle the risk (They don’t express their Mars well). For example Bitcoin can have 20 to 30 percent price swings compared to the US dollar in a single day.

I am not trilled with stable coins, because unlike the more traditional cryptocurrencies, there is no hard limit to the number of coins. Bitcoin has a strict limit of 21 million coins that can ever be created. On the other hand, stable coins, especially when they are linked tot he US dollar, need to keep up with the inflation of the US dollar in order to keep their value. So when the Libra Association says “To drive widespread adoption, Libra is designed to be a currency where any user will know that the

value of a Libra today will be close to its value tomorrow and in the future.”, I know this isn’t true. Libra will inflate along with the US dollar.

The governance structure is what I really don’t like. Only members of the Libra Association can validate blocks (the transactions). The only way to join the Libra Association, is to be an established non-profit, or academic institution, or become a corporation and pay $10 million. This is very different from most other cryptocurrencies where anyone can download the mining software and begin validating blocks. At the beginning there will likely be only 20 to 30 validators for Libra. This type of governance structure is very similar to oligarchy. Only major corporate players is finance and technology will control the validation of blocks and the hard fork process, therefore they will control everything on the blockchain. I wouldn’t surprise me if at some point they erase transactions because they didn’t like the outcome.

Let’s talk about the astrology of this announcement now. First I should mention that I don’t have exact time for this announcement. Based on the earliest news articles I saw, I think the white paper went live around 4 AM EST (Eastern Standard Time US). I think this time is at least close to accurate based on the location. The Libra Association, was incorporated in Geneva Switzerland and is a Swiss company. Based on this location 4 AM EST becomes 9 AM CET (Central European Time). I think this works because this time would be near the start of the work day there. But I have to admit that I could be off on the time by an hour in either direction.

Looking at the chart, the aspect the jumps out the most is the Mercury in a partile conjunct Mars opposite Pluto. It is also opposite Saturn and conjunct the North Node. To me this aspect is about speaking rashly, about institutional power and wealth. If one reads the main white paper, the stated goal of this project is to bring banking to the estimated 1.7 billion people in the world who do not have a bank. So this aspects seems to fit the Libra Association’s stated mission.

Personally, I am not sure how much of a problem it is that some people don’t use banks. This may be an issue that first worlders think third worlders have. This is illustrated through Neptune trining Mercury & Mars, and sextiling Pluto. The Libra Association may be blinded by idealism on this issue and may not understand how some people don’t need to use a bank. Another interpretation would be be this is a half truth. They want everyone in the system because they want to track and control everyone’s financial transactions. The fact that 1.7 billion people don’t bank is a problem for them; it is not a problem for everyone else.

This brings us to the next closes aspect in the chart Jupiter partile square Neptune. One interesting thing in the white paper is that on page 2, the Libra Association uses the phrase “We believe” for 6 mission statements on why they are creating Libra. These statements are:

• We believe that many more people should have access to financial services and to cheap capital.
• We believe that people have an inherent right to control the fruit of their legal labor.
• We believe that global, open, instant, and low-cost movement of money will create immense economic opportunity and more commerce across the world.
• We believe that people will increasingly trust decentralized forms of governance.
• We believe that a global currency and financial infrastructure should be designed and governed as a public good.
• We believe that we all have a responsibility to help advance financial inclusion, support ethical actors, and continuously uphold the integrity of the ecosystem.

Jupiter is traditionally associated with belief and religion in astrology. In this chart Jupiter is square Neptune a planet dreams and enlightenment, but also deception and trickery. Under the worst case, this aspect would indicate a tendency to lie about your beliefs. In the best this would be idealizing your beliefs. Given Facebook’s past in regards to privacy protection, I think these belief statements were said in an attempt to generate good press. Facebook’s and the Libra Association itself may not hold these beliefs themselves and only stated as talking points for the public.

This is how most people reacted to the white paper. This is seen in the chart by having a full Moon in Capricorn. The Moon is in determent in Capricorn so of course the public would react negatively to this. The Sun is Gemini and doesn’t really make an aspect to anything unless you take a wide orb and then it is opposite Jupiter. This would also indicate that Facebook and the Libra Association is not being completely honest about things.

Jupiter is also opposite Venus using a wide orb. This aspect would indict that either that the Libra is planned to compete with the US dollar, or more likely the plan laid in the Libra Reserve white paper is not financially sound. The Libra Reserve white paper can be summarized as the Libra Association will hold a basket of other assets including other currencies, bank deposits, and government bonds to stabilize the Libra to near the US dollar. Authorized traders will trade these assets to stabilize the Libra. Frankly, I am not sure this would work long term because eventually the traders will be motivated to destabilize the Libra for more profit.

Finally, the last planet to talk about is Uranus. Uranus makes two aspects in this chart. One to the Moon and one to the Ascendant. The aspect to the Moon would indicate the public may look upon the advances in blockchain technology more favorably than anything else announced. They may also be unsettled by the announcement too.

The aspect to the ascendant is only accurate if the time is. Seeing if this aspect happens would indicate whether or not the time is close to accurate. If the time is accurate I would expect that Libra may have some unexpected technological delays. Because you could use the 10^th house, it may also mean unexpected delays due to government regulations.

In my analysis, I think the Libra cryptocurrency is an interesting concept for Facebook and the Libra Association to try. I am just not sure they can balance the needs of the larger community against their own need to track and control everything.

What happens in the future though, is not really up to what Facebook and Libra Association does, it is what we as people do about it. In astrology, Libra is the sign of partnerships. What Facebook just did, was to propose a new partnership with the general public. It is up to us to accept or reject it. If we reject their proposal we become their opponents. Libra is the sign of enemies too! There is balance between the the concepts of partners and opponents, let’s see if Facebook can find it!