Facebook proposal to launch a cryptocurrency has been greeted with skepticism, criticism and alarm. The U.S. social media company has a reputation for single-minded pursuit of its own commercial advantage and form when it comes to ignoring privacy issues.
Recall its original motto: move fast and break things. As critics have rushed to point out, putting Facebook's dominating ambition and erratic track record in policing its users together with the crucial infrastructure of global financial payments is a big risk. Red flags have been raised over everything from privacy and regulation to the vulnerability of such a big new financial network to industrialized hacking.