When Facebook formally unveiled its Libra cryptocurrency last week, cryptoverse stakeholders instantly took to debating whether the coin — envisioned as a basketcoin in a dual-token ecosystem — would compete against or rather boost the adoption prospects of top digital assets like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
Those conversations continue one week on, and the thread just received its latest wrinkle: conjecture arising around the possibility of an organization representing Ethereum joining the Libra Association to become a Libra Core validator.
Using a June 24th Twitter thread to outline how such an arrangement could take place, SpankChain chief executive officer Ameen Soleimani floated the idea of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and a legal organization being coordinated to become a leading member in the Libra ecosystem on the behalf of Ethereum.
But *who* is ETH? Which org should join? @ethereum foundation? @ConsenSys?
What if we created a new org, possibly using @AragonProject, as a hybrid legal org + DAO to join?
— Ameen Soleimani (@ameensol) June 24, 2019
When the Libra whitepaper was unveiled last week, Facebook revealed itself as among approximately 30 organizations that would serve as Libra’s first validators — a privilege reportedly costing $10 million USD per member.
Major enterprises like Visa, Mastercard, and eBay were among those organizations, but due to the Libra protocol’s underlying Byzantine fault tolerance consenus model, the basketcoin project is still in need of around 70 more validators.
Alas, there’s plenty of room for newcomers as it stands. If a group serving on behalf of Ethereum did join in, it would be the first of its kind — a body representing a public blockchain community — in the governance association. Cryptoeconomy natives Coinbase and Xapo have already paid up to be validators, though they’re enterprises.
Yet the glaring questions of who would represent Ethereum and how they would do it quickly rise to the fore. Soleimani had some ideas here, too.
A DAO on a Mission
The SpankChain CEO added that once a “hybrid legal org + DAO” had been worked out, it could conduct a security token offering (STO) to raise the $10 million necessary to become a Libra validator.
The body could then directly partake in Libra’s governance and foster projects that involve both Libra and Ethereum, like bridges, Soleimani said.
The org would have to be structured in such a way that the token holders from the STO have some rights to choosing the non-profit management, and so can influence where and how the Libra validator node is operated. @lex_node any thoughts on this?
— Ameen Soleimani (@ameensol) June 24, 2019
But why should the Ethereum community embrace such an idea, and why should Libra’s backers go along with it? Soleimani said the prospective meld could, among other things, bridge “the ETH & Libra open source dev communities.”
The ConsenSys alum also implied the Ethereum representatives could vote for ether to become one of Libra’s reserve currencies (some have already speculated about the possibility of BTC being similarly tapped, but there’s no official word on the basket’s composition for now). Ether being voted in would undoubtedly further legitimize the Ethereum network’s native asset in mainstream circles.
Advantages for Libra to accept ETH as a validator:
1. more legitimacy in the eyes of crypto cypherpunks
2. access to talented and inspired open source dev community
3. hedge against ETH grassroots community growing independently and outside of the Libra walled garden— Ameen Soleimani (@ameensol) June 24, 2019
As for what Libra would stand to gain, the SpankChain CEO said welcoming an Ethereum representative into the fold could bring increased credibility and productivity to the newly devised cryptocurrency project.
Of course, Soleimani’s propositions are just that for now — propositions. But the rising specter of Libra will ensure these propositions get plenty of discussion in the coming weeks. In fact, more formal activity around a “LibraDAO” has already begun.
We've put together an initial *Request for Membership* list of projects & people who would be valuable LibraDAO members (token sale participants). https://t.co/fkYacCVbwf
Pls add others & give feedback! LibraDAO's legitimacy depends on the strength of Ethereum cooperation ????
— Eva Beylin (@evabeylin) June 25, 2019
MetaCartel Working on ETH-Libra Bridge
Soleimani, who spearheaded the creation of MolochDAO, had mentioned the possibility of a theoretical Ethereum organization helping to flesh out Libra-ETH bridge tech.
Notably, another DAO — the relatively new MetaCartel group — is already at work on such a bridge, which they’ve dubbed the SpicyBridge, an homage to the DAO’s chili pepper mascot. One of the DAO’s engineering teams, “Taco Team Six,” is leading work on the development of the SpicyBridge.
Today is Pedro Gomez's (@pedrouid) first day as MetaCartel's new Director of Engineering ????????
He will be working on CDAI-Chain & the SpicyBridge (Libra – ETH Bridge) as well as providing technical due diligence for our deal flow ????️♂️
— MetaCartel (@Meta_Cartel) June 24, 2019
It’s an early Libra-minded foray for the DAO, which is gunning to boost Ethereum’s dapp scene. In the meantime, the wider debates will continue as to how Ethereum’s stakeholders should position their project in relation to Libra.