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Facebook’s GlobalCoin To Release Before 2020

Facebook’s GlobalCoin To Release Before 2020

We’ve been talking about ‘Facebook Coin’ for the better part of six months on CryptoDaily but it’s all been in speculation. Now we have confirmation that Facebook is indeed creating its very own cryptocurrency.

It’s been floating around for a while now that Facebook has been creating a cryptocurrency in the secret Libra’ project but the BBC have just reported that the giant is in fact on track to start testing its bitcoin rival, which is to be known as GlobalCoin, before the end of the year.

Project Libra

Libra started about 12 months ago when Facebook was looking to find a way to transfer money between users of its WhatsApp service. One thing led to another and Libra grew on a massive scale. It is looking to create a digital payments system that will ensure cheap, secure and fast money transfers for users.

As reported by CCN:

“The Facebook CEO had said earlier this year that he is planning to integrate Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram to enable cross-platform messaging. In hindsight, it looks like Facebook was already preparing for the launch of the so-called GlobalCoin, as the cross-platform messaging feature would allow users across all three services to send digital currency to each other.”

Zuckerberg is probably hoping that he can have an impact on bitcoin specifically thanks to a massive user base that Facebook has but one that is also driven by applications like WhatsApp and Instagram.

Confronting Regulation

On top of this, Facebook has allegedly been confronting regulators in the United States and the UK in preparation for the launch of the new cryptocurrency.

The social giant has been speaking to the Bank of England as well as the US treasury to gain insights on the risks involved with cryptocurrency.

“Unlike bitcoin, Facebook’s GlobalCoin will be under the control of the social media company. The biggest advantage of bitcoin is that it is a decentralized digital currency that isn’t controlled by anyone. There is no central authority bitcoin holders report to, but that will probably not be the case with GlobalCoin as Facebook will have access to the identities of all those who hold its digital currency.”

So anonymity doesn’t seem an option with GlobalCoin.

Published at Fri, 24 May 2019 19:26:51 +0000

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Big Money! Casascius 1 BTC Coin Sells for $28,700

A certified Casascius 1 BTC coin just sold for $28,700 on eBay, an amount much higher than the current $14,300 that a single bitcoin is going for.

It may be that cryptocurrency is moving into the realm of collectability as well as a means of financial transaction. A Casascius 1 BTC coin that was originally released back in 2011 as part of the coin’s second series just sold on eBay. The winning bid was an eye-opening $28,700.

Bidding War

Overall, the Casascius coin had 166 bids placed upon it. The seller bravely started off the auction at 1 cent. This was pretty gutsy as the coin contains 1 bitcoin in value, which currently stands at $14,399.

The auction got off with a bang as the first bid raised the price to $10,100, and the action just heated up from there. For a couple of days, bidders nibbled away at a $20,000 bid that someone had put into place. On the last day of the auction, the price went from $17,200 all the way up to $28,700.

The coin has an ANACS rating of MS 65, which equates to an absolute mint state. The bitcoin value of the coin is unredeemed, and the private key is contained on a piece of paper that has been sealed to the coin with a tamper-evident hologram sticker.

What is a Casascius Coin?

These coins are rather unique. Their creator is Mike Caldwell, who decided to transform virtual currency into physical coins. Caldwell minted coins that included the key to access a specific amount of bitcoin, normally 1 BTC. However, he did make denominations up to 1000 BTC.

The coins were pretty popular, but Caldwell was shut down by the federal government. Back in 2013, Caldwell received a notice from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), a part of the US Treasury Department. They felt that his business equated to transmitting money. If he wanted to continue, he would have had to do a tremendous amount of registering and complying with both state and federal regulations.

Overall, Caldwell minted 27,673 coins, boasting a total amount of 59,383.9 BTC. At the current value of Bitcoin, the total amount of coins he made is worth a staggering $854,920,910.

Just like other collectables (looking at you, action figures!), a mint Casascius coin that has never been spent tend to be worth more than the value of a single BTC. If you have the urge to expand your coin collection, there are additional Casascius coins to be found on eBay in both loaded and unloaded varieties.

Would you have bid upon this particular auction? If so, how high would you have gone? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Bitcoinist archives.

The post Big Money! Casascius 1 BTC Coin Sells for $28,700 appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

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