Facebook - the world's biggest social media platform with 2.3 billion active users - plans to roll out its own cryptocurrency, Libra, this week with backing from top players in finance and technology.
The National looks at this new digital currency.
Who is backing Facebook's foray into crypto assets?
The Silicon Valley giant is leading a group of more than a dozen companies - including Visa, Mastercard, Uber, PayPal and Booking.com - that calls itself Libra Association backing a new digital currency, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The group is aiming to raise as much as $1 billion (Dh3.6bn), with each participating firm pledging an initial investment of $10 million to float an initial coin offering. Facebook is targeting participation of 100 companies in the fund.
Why does Facebook want to launch its own currency?
Facebook plans to develop a stablecoin, a type of digital currency pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies to minimise volatility and is planning to roll out the currency in 12 countries by the first quarter of 2020.
Reportedly in development for more than a year, the project revolves around a digital coin that its users can send to each other and use to make purchases both on Facebook and across the internet, the WSJ reports, but how it will work exactly is still unknown.
Rolling out a cryptocurrency offering would open a new stream of revenue for the company, which has been struggling. Its net profit plunged 51 per cent year-on-year to $2.4bn in the first-quarter.
Using its existing platforms such as Messenger and WhatsApp, Facebook could emulate WeChat in China, which allows users to chat, shop and play games in one place.
Will it be similar to Bitcoin?
Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Libra is expected to be governed by strict regulations. The group has met with the Bank of England governor, US Treasury officials and money transfer companies to clarify their proposed scheme and to evaluate the opportunities and risks involved. It will be more apt to compare it with other internal blockchain-based payments systems such as JP Morgan’s JPM Coin and IBM’s World Wire.
What are the hurdles to bringing Libra's crypto asset to market?
There are regulatory hurdles as there is widespread acknowledgment that digital assets are potential tools for money laundering and financial fraud.
Facebook, which is already under fire over privacy concerns, will release a detailed whitepaper on Libra on June 18.
The company hired Jeff Cartwright, formerly the director of regulatory risk at US crypto exchange Coinbase, as a policy and compliance manager. Another former Coinbase employee Mikheil Moucharrafie was hired as compliance officer. Christopher Giancarlo, head of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Facebook was in the “very early stages” of discussion with the commission.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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