Half of US & UK Consumers Would Not Trust a Facebook Cryptocurrency

Nearly half of those polled in the US and UK claim that they would not trust a cryptocurrency produced by Facebook, despite the announcement of libra. 

Lack of Trust in Libra

According to research compiled by messaging app Viber, 49% of consumers in the US and UK would not trust a cryptocurrency made by the social media giant.

While the vast majority of respondents may not understand the functions of crypto or how libra would differentiate as a digital currency, nearly half feel suspicious of using a Facebook coin. 

This is not the first time reports are showing a general lack of interest for libra. In May, analytics firm Diar published a report showing Facebook would have to overcome demographic hurdles to drive adoption for their cryptocurrency.

The social media platform is losing market share on younger, wealthier users while the number of elderly and retirees have increased. The latter have historically been one of the least accepting of bitcoin and crypto for digital payments, a trend which Diar predicts will continue with libra. 

Facebook’s Poor Track Record

Respondents, in general, have an abysmal view of Facebook’s ability to protect user privacy and security through libra. The company already dropped the ball in announcing Swiss agency FDPIC to manage libra’s data protection–despite the latter having never been contacted by Facebook.

According to the Viber poll, only 4% of UK respondents said they trust Facebook, with even fewer, 2.5%, making the same claim in the US. Just over a quarter of those polled said they had not yet made up their minds. 

The Cambridge Analytica disaster, which revealed Facebook had allowed millions of user profiles to be mined for political advertising, is still weighing heavy on the minds of consumers. Given the already present uncertainty around the use of cryptocurrencies, it comes as no surprise libra is facing push-back from social media users.

Growing Bitcoin Adoption

However, the silver lining to Facebook’s coin is what billionaire investor Tim Draper recently called a “bridge” to bitcoin. Regardless of consumer trust in the social media platform, libra will open public discourse to fiat alternatives.

Even if the coin fails to gain market saturation, it brings awareness to cryptocurrency, which Draper believes will result in strengthening bitcoin in the public eye.