Several members of the Facebook-backed Libra Project have announced their alliance with a rival stablecoin project known as Celo. Since the middle of March, members that have joined the Celo Alliance for Prosperity include, among many others, Coinbase Ventures, Anchorage Mercy Corps, Andreessen Horowitz and Bison Trails Co. The shift in interest from one project to the other may signal the ultimate demise of Libra, as several companies have departed the project. In October of last year, the Libra Association took a major hit when five of its most prominent backers — PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and eBay — left. …
Executive Vice President-Designate of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, has questioned the motives behind Facebook’s forthcoming Libra stablecoin. In an interview with the Financial Services Union of Denmark, a fragment of which was published on Oct. 1, Vestager addressed the possible impact from Libra’s launch — such as competition due to Facebook’s multimillion user base and distortion of competition in the payment services market. Vestager argued: "It's a pretty new thing that we are starting to question something that does not exist yet. But it is so far in the future that we cannot tell if this is going to …
Over 30 advocacy groups have appeared as signatories on a request that Congress and regulators implement an official moratorium on Libra development, as per the letter published on July 2. The letter was also addressed to Facebook, with Mark Zuckerberg himself cc’d, and asked that the social media giant wait until Congress and regulators have scrutinized a detailed presentation of the proposed stablecoin-esque virtual currency. The letter includes a number of questions that the signatories say need answers before Libra can proceed, including the following: “The plan for Libra makes explicit and implicit promises to consumers – such as the …
Facebook has released its much anticipated white paper for the cryptocurrency Libra. The initial reviews of the highly secretive mega-project are mixed, to say the least. Before taking a look at responses across the cryptosphere, let’s have a quick recap of the Facebook proposal. The Libra coin proposal Libra is designed to be a global currency that aims to simplify cross-border micropayments and remittances enabled by its own blockchain, the Libra Blockchain. As excerpt from the white paper reads: “Just as people can use their phones to message friends anywhere in the world today, with Libra, the same can be …
A couple of United States lawmakers are looking to classify stablecoins as securities. With Libra considering adopting fiat-pegged stablecoins rather than a single token supported by a basket of national currencies, the proposed crypto project might be facing yet another regulatory hurdle. Meanwhile, lawmakers sponsoring the bill say stablecoins should be classified as securities to protect U.S. consumers. If passed, stablecoin projects like Libra will potentially fall under the purview of stringent U.S. securities regulations. Critics of the move remark that such measures only serve to further dampen the country’s position in the emerging digital landscape. Some commentators have long …