Cyph3rp9nk on Nostr: This article by **Mark Goodwin and Whitney Webb**, published on **31 October 2024** ...

This article by **Mark Goodwin and Whitney Webb**, published on **31 October 2024** as part of the series **“The Chain”**, argues that Facebook’s **Libra/Diem** project was not a genuine failure, but rather a key step in laying the political, regulatory and technological groundwork for a new digital monetary infrastructure. According to the authors, the underlying objective was not merely to launch a Facebook currency, but to promote a model in which private digital money is integrated with surveillance, state regulation and the dominance of the dollar. ([Unlimited Hangout][1])

The central thesis is that **PayPal, Facebook and figures close to Peter Thiel** had been pursuing a kind of “new global currency” for years. The article highlights that **David Marcus**, former president of PayPal, led Libra at Facebook, and presents Libra as an attempt to leverage Facebook’s enormous user base to create a global monetary network. When regulators put the brakes on the project, the authors interpret this setback not as a definitive end, but as a phase that helped shape the regulatory framework for subsequent **stablecoins**. ([Unlimited Hangout][1])

The text then links **Libra, Silvergate, SVB, Paxos, PayPal USD, the crypto lobby and stablecoin legislation** as parts of the same financial reconfiguration. The idea is that, following the visible collapse of Libra, many of its goals and personal networks lived on in new companies, alliances and products. In this interpretation, dollar-pegged stablecoins do not compete against the US system, but rather **extend the hegemony of the dollar** across the internet and public blockchains. ([Unlimited Hangout][1])

The article’s conclusion is highly critical: the authors argue that the **Bitcoin + dollar-pegged stablecoins** ecosystem has ended up serving less an idea of financial freedom and more a new order in which private companies, Wall Street and Washington jointly reinforce US monetary power. They also contend that this model facilitates **financial surveillance** and preserves the dollar’s global leadership rather than weakening it. ([Unlimited Hangout][1])

Put very simply: **the article says that Libra ‘died’ in the public eye, but that its true legacy was to pave the way for the world of regulated dollar-pegged stablecoins, with PayPal and similar players as the main beneficiaries**. ([Unlimited Hangout][1])

I can also provide you with an **even shorter version**, in 5 lines, or a **neutral summary separating the facts from the article and the authors’ conclusions/opinions**.

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The Chain Of Command: How Facebook’s Libra, Bank Regulators, and PayPal Built A New World Currency

Two companies closely tied to Peter Thiel – PayPal and Facebook – have embarked on apparently unsuccessful efforts to create a “new world currency.” Yet, upon further examination, those efforts have actually been wildly successful and many recent events of significant in finance – including but not limited to the 2023 banking crisis – have arguably been orchestrated to facilitate the vision of Thiel and his early allies and the creation of a new paradigm for currency, one where privately issued money meets surveillance.

https://unlimitedhangout.com/2024/10/investigative-series/the-chain-of-command-how-facebooks-libra-bank-regulators-and-paypal-built-a-new-world-currency/