While Libra may not have that many fans as of late, it looks like some companies are simply dying to jump on board.
Libra Gains a Pal in Shopify
The Libra Association has just announced that Shopify – an e-commerce platform provider – has entered the frame and will be responsible for the decision-making processes surrounding Libra and Calibra in the coming future. Shopify states that the addition of Libra to the financial spectrum is likely to increase the strength, durability and safety behind global digital payments.
In a blog post, the company stated:
As online commerce becomes increasingly borderless, it’s easy to forget that payments and the value exchange of goods are not a solved problem everywhere. Much of the world’s financial infrastructure was not built to handle the scale and needs of internet commerce. As a member of the Libra Association, we will work collectively to build a payment network that makes money easier to access and supports merchants and consumers everywhere.
The Libra Association – and the coin that’s responsible for its creation – has had quite a harsh run over the past several months. Originally governed by the likes of financial companies like PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, the organization has lost the support of these and many other businesses like them in a relatively short period of time.
Many of the fleeing entities state that they are worried about the regulatory sentiment that’s flowing through Congress. They feel that many of these individuals are harshly anti-crypto. In addition, Libra has not been clear regarding how it’s looking to operate or how it will keep people’s financial data safe and secure, prompting many companies to leave before they get in too deep.
Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga explained not too long ago that there were just too many red flags with Facebook’s new project. He states:
When you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like… For financial inclusion, the government has got to pay you in this [currency], you’ve got to receive it as an instrument you can understand, and you have to be able to use it to buy rice and cycles. If you get paid in Libra, which go into Calibras, which go back into pounds to buy rice, I don’t really understand how that works.
We’ve Always Wanted This
By contrast, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke has stated that it was always the company’s intention to get involved with Libra, as he believes it will have a firm hand in deciding where crypto goes from here. He says:
We like to make decisions based on future potential instead of heard movement. Funnily enough, this usually leads to us doing the opposite of the others.
