By Leonardo Neri Candido de Azevedo
Facebook recently announced the launch of a global currency based on technology Blockchain, called Libra, and a new subsidiary, Calibra, which would be responsible for launching a digital wallet for the aforementioned cryptocurrency, which would be available in applications, such as WhatsApp, and also in the company's own, which would probably be announced by mid-2020.
Central banks around the world are concerned about the consequences of Facebook's launch of cryptocurrency. What most heightens the state of alert of regulatory bodies is the immeasurable volume of users backed by the technology company, and the real possibility of effective circulation of digital capital, involving unimaginable amounts that would certainly affront the legal security and regulatory stability of the current traditional financial system.
Up until now, banks have managed to circumvent the growth of potential competitors quite successfully, as in the case of Fintechs, due to the significant economic power it holds, in the face of young startup entrepreneurs who enter the market thirsty for innovation through the use of technology, but largely based exclusively on the power of their ideas. However, the direction announced by Facebook, an already consolidated giant in the technology sector, causes an unprecedented situation that has not yet been confronted in current times, which explains the uproar in the financial sector, which has repercussions on the speed with which the market demands incisive action from regulatory bodies.
At a national level, we are faced with countless legal possibilities that can affect a huge range of segments, among which the following stand out: (i) Digital means of payment (similar to what currently occurs in China, through the application WeChat); (ii) General Data Protection Law and the disconnection of cryptocurrency from Facebook itself, which explains the social network's moves in favor of privacy; (iii) Relationship with financial institutions and commercial establishments that operate credit cards, exemplified by Visa and Mastercard; (iv) Impacts on consumer relations and agreements with giants in the online shopping sector; (v) Another area of use for the Blockchain; (vi) Globalized money transfer without exchange rate closure (it could start with expatriates, but if it evolves into the market, it would start to face fierce competition with stronger currencies); among other occurrences.
Due to the numerous repercussions of the topic on the lack of legal mechanisms and also on existing legal institutes present in Brazilian business daily life, the Mazzucco & Mello Advogados office will prepare a series of articles commenting, in detail, on the challenges and legal effects for each situation listed here.
