Facebook wants to create its own digital currency. It’s a terrible idea.

There’s a lot to be said for severing the link between government and money. When money is independent of government, it is not subject to the inflationary whims of whoever runs the capital that day. Independent money must be based on something people believe in, not just on the government’s say-so. That means it’s likely to be more real, more lasting, and more secure. For people who don’t think the Federal Reserve lives up to the task, gold has always been an option, just as bitcoin is now.

So it’s not wrong in itself for a private company to make private money. But anyone who trusts Facebook with something as important as currency itself is making a huge mistake. The social media company already has way more information on all of us than it should. It is already plagued by privacy violations and data leaks. Give them access to your money and your bank account? No thanks.