David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s stablecoin project, Libra, claims that their cryptocurrency is “a chance for the free world.” He stresses that the asset must “succeed before China.”

Marcus shared this thought during an interview with RTS, in which he was talking about his project’s competition with the recently revealed Chinese cryptocurrency project.

China’s Cryptocurrency is ‘Ready’

Just last month, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) revealed that its digital asset “can now be said to be ready,” with the country having been working on it since 2014. The goal here is for it to be working on two levels, with one tier working directly for the PBoC and the other tier with commercial banks. Overall, the asset would provide faster cross-border transactions and other issues with the current system.

Unfortunately for Marcus and company, however, he claims that the now-ready asset is “not only for China.” Instead, it is “a project that has a lot more ambition,” making it a direct competitor to Libra, which may or may not launch next year. “There is a real risk,” the head affirms.

Marcus’ biggest fear regarding the Chinese cryptocurrency is that it’s being developed with a focus on surveillance, rather than to exist as a free market asset. Somewhat ironically, this is a fear that many have regarding Libra.

However, there really isn’t anyone else who can stand against the Chinese cryptocurrency that we know of. Nobody else that’s developing one has Facebook’s reach. It seems like Libra would be the best of a bad scenario, depending on how development plays out.

No Trust for Libra

Of course, Marcus is aware of this distrust, with much of it being made apparent to him this summer. He has some choice words for that fear, however, claiming that “states that are afraid of Libra are wrong.” Marcus does “understand that Facebook’s power may be a concern,” though, and says he is working diligently to change that.

The Libra head is essentially claiming that despite many being concerned with Facebook and its goal with a widespread currency, China beating them to it would be much worse. “Libra is not a sovereign currency,” Marcus states. We’ll have to see if that’s true.

What do you think about the Libra vs. China debate? Is one cryptocurrency better than the other, or are both not to be trusted? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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