Facebook quietly announced Tuesday that it was getting into the cryptocurrency game.

The social media giant said it was looking to launch Libra, a new digital offering, in 2020  with an all-star line up of 27 Founding members

The founders include: Uber and Lyft, payments companies like Visa, Mastercard and Paypal, as well as venture capitalists firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The venture hopes to have 100 members by launch.

Notable absent from the original 27 members are Wall Street banks, which should tip you off that this is uncharted territory. It’s not a blockchain play, no this is an alternative currency.

The question is why would CEO Mark Zuckerberg be looking for alternatives to the dollar?

It’s understandable that in order to grow Facebook needs to diversify from an advertising company to a payments firm, but that could have been accomplished by buying PayPal or Discover Card.

No this move is a step away from fiat currencies. So what does that tell us about what the smart Silicon Valley crowd thinks about the future of the dollar, euro or yuan?

I think it speaks volumes. Especially with what Facebook is facing on Capitol Hill and its anticipated billions in fines over privacy violations.

They must feel strongly about the direction they are heading, given the blow back the company may receive.