New tech pioneer Points says Facebook's Libra project needs transparency
Updated 15:20, 03-Jul-2019
CGTN Global Business
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04:13

Sparks are flying at Summer Davos 2019 over the topic of cybersecurity, as views on digital currencies remain mixed and the market appears primed for investment. 

Internet giant Facebook is planning to launch a blockchain initiative called Project Libra, which is a new type of digital currency designed for the billions of people using its apps and social network. Sarah Zhang, founder and CEO of Points, said the project is receiving a lot of criticism and skepticism from stakeholders. However, Points can mitigate the potential risks.

Points is a new tech pioneer specializing in data security and secure computation systems. The company utilizes confidential computing technology, which allows data owners to collaborate on calculations, such as credit scoring algorithms, without exposing their own data.

Zhang brought the notion of confidential computing to the table at Summer Davos 2019 and claimed the technology actually solves Facebook's leakage problem by protecting user data without exposure.

VCG Photo

VCG Photo

"If we look through Facebook's core engineers in their blockchain team's LinkedIn profiles, you will actually see 'privacy-preserving computation,' those types of words. So Facebook is actually also investing a lot of time and resources in developing such type of solutions. They are aware of it, and this is also a very strategic piece of technology for AI technology to further develop," she said.

Zhang mentioned Facebook's Libra project got a lot of adoption. Facebook recruits investors by targeting companies with more than 20 million users. "The move captures consumer adoption," Zhang said. "If your currency is not getting into [the game], you are losing some influence in the game. But if you are, you definitely [are] also exposed to some of the volatility that brings."

While there is still a concern that the project will be a U.S. dollar-dominant system at the end of the day, Libra has not fully recruited staff, having just a few advisers on board who serve as an independent organization to decide their policies. Zhang said there is no transparency, but the point is Libra has a recruitment process.

"The government agencies and international companies or Chinese companies should apply and have a seat in the experiment to see how it develops," Zhang said. "If we are not even in [the game], it [is] then hard for us to shape how it looks like in the future."

(Cover: Sarah Zhang, founder and CEO of Points. /CGTN Photo)