Thread by @ph_lux

Why I think Ethereum "joining" @Libra_ conflicts with Ethereum's vision and community goals, a thread...

1a.) IDENTITY: The Calibra wallet will require identifiable information that enables the consortium (and possibly others) to tie social/personal data to financial data. Unlike KYCed ICOs or exchanges, there is no way to pseudonymously send a transaction to yourself

1b.) We therefore must trust @Facebook and other consortium members not to abuse this new stream of data. These companies have continuously shown that they are incapable of protecting users, and the most vulnerable group they are targeting (the unbanked) are at a greater risk.

1c.) This means blacklisting is a real risk, and I think we will see EOS-style blacklists being automatically approved by the consortium, wiping out balances and financial freedom of its users.

2.) CENTRALIZATION: The @libra_ consortium are very much aligned toward a common goal, and not enough contention is between them on financial matters to reasonably assume that this blockchain will reasonably serve to manage any real contention other blockchains are designed to do

2b.) Currently, personal data is at least siloed within each of these organizations. With $Libra, all of the consortium companies can access and correlate personal financial history. Again, this makes blacklisting all the more easy.

2c.) e.g.,
- "Bad driver for Uber? Now you can't use #Libra for ebay."
- "Made a bad comment on Facebook? Now you can't sign up for a Vodafone contract."
- "Late on your last Visa payment? You can't use Libra until you pay."

3.) PLUTOCRACY / HIGH BARRIER OF ENTRY: $1 Billion dollar market cap *company*, $10 million to stake (for now). I don't think @ethereum will be accepted into the consortium with these requirements, at least for the first 5 or so years.

CONCLUSION: The idea that you can "change things from the inside" is not a part of the Ethereum community's goals, experience or capabilities. We are building *alternative* systems that make traditional systems obsolete.