Tagged: libra

February 21, 2020 @ 12:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a release today, Shopify announced that it had joined the Libra Association, the entity in charge of launching Facebook’s proposed non-sovereign digital currency. Shopify appears to have ignored the trend where multiple members have exited the consortium as it has become more apparent that… Read More

February 3, 2020 @ 11:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ajay Banga, CEO at payments giant Mastercard, recently talked about why his company decided to leave the controversial Facebook-led Libra global payments and stablecoin project. Banga claims his firm doesn’t quite understand Libra’s business model. He told the Financial Times: “When you don’t understand how… Read More

January 20, 2020 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Libra Association has reportedly established a five-member “Technical Steering Committee” in order to manage the ongoing development of the controversial Facebook-led stablecoin and digital payments project. The five members include Diogo Monica, co-founder at Anchorage, George Cabrera III, core product lead at Calibra (the… Read More

January 3, 2020 @ 4:51 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Jens Weidmann, President of Germany’s central bank (Bundesbank) and a governing councilor at the European Central Bank (ECB), told Handelsblatt this week that much needs to be understood before central banks should get into issuing a digital currency like Facebook’s Libra or Bitcoin, commonly referred… Read More

December 28, 2019 @ 9:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

Switzerland’s finance minister and outgoing president, Ueli Maurer, says he doesn’t think Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency project can proceed in its current form, Reuters reports. This is mainly, “because central banks will not accept the basket of currencies underpinning it,” Maurer claimed. “The project, in… Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 12:56 pm By Cali Haan  |  

For many reasons, China is regarded as one of the world’s make-or-break regions when it comes to the fate of “blockchain” technology and cryptocurrencies. Before Bitcoin trading was officially banned in China in late 2016, yuan-to-Bitcoin conversions (and vice versa) seemed to account for more… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 7:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As she welcomed Benoît Coeuré to his new position as Head of the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS’) Innovation Hub, U.S. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told regulators in Frankfurt Wednesday that private (crypto) currency networks pose risks that must be addressed. She also said… Read More

December 9, 2019 @ 5:00 am By Jonathan J. Attia and Thibault Verbiest  |  

We have deliberately chosen to limit our presentation, for pedagogical reasons, to the four fundamental periods represented by the emergence of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Libra and CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) because no other event (derived or similar project) has had such an impact on the… Read More

December 7, 2019 @ 12:57 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Council of the European Union, which implements laws for the EU region, has issued a statement on “stablecoin” cryptocurrencies indicating that, “no global ‘stablecoin’…should begin operation in the European Union until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks have been adequately identified and… Read More

November 13, 2019 @ 10:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Christian Catalini, co-creator of the Facebook-led Libra payment system and head economist at Calibra, a subsidiary of the social media giant that’s focused on developing a digital wallet for Libra, says he’d been doing research in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space for many years before… Read More

November 12, 2019 @ 1:55 am By Cali Haan  |  

CEO Patrick Collison of Stripe told Wired magazine last Friday that he’s, “very skeptical of anyone who’s adamant that crypto’s gonna work,” but said he thinks companies should experiment even if the chance of success seems slight. Collison reportedly made the comments while doing on… Read More

November 11, 2019 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Benoît Cœuré, the outgoing European Central Bank Executive Board Member and an individual some thought best equipped to become the President of the ECB, has been appointed to lead the newly created Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub. According to BIS, Cœuré will commence… Read More

November 9, 2019 @ 2:55 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Elvira Nabiullina, governor at the Bank of Russia since 2013, told the Russian parliament this week that she supports Fintech innovations but opposes private currencies like Facebook’s Libra because they pose a threat to financial stability. She also said she and the bank are monitoring… Read More

November 8, 2019 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Council of the European Union has posted a memo, or “draft joint statement,” regarding stablecoins – a hot policy topic these days due to Facebook’s attempt to launch a global, non-sovereign, cryptocurrency. When Facebook revealed the creation of Libra, and the executive body the… Read More

November 8, 2019 @ 1:02 am By Cali Haan  |  

Ashley Alder, CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission told attendees at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Wednesday that Facebook’s Libra has forced, “the international regulatory community…to get its act together very rapidly,” regarding the financial stability risks of stablecoin cryptocurrencies. He also said… Read More

November 7, 2019 @ 9:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In comments likely designed to assuage regulator concerns, Kevin Weil, VP Product for Facebook’s Calibra cryptocurrency wallet program, told people attending the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon November 5th that Facebok’s proposed cryptocurrency network will take decades to implement: “This is not going to… Read More

November 7, 2019 @ 1:07 am By Cali Haan  |  

Daniel Daianu, president of Romania’s Fiscal Council, told members of the Romanian Academy Tuesday that Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency could destroy the current global monetary balance and so disrupt the work of central banks that they become ineffective at managing money supplies, Agerpres reports. Facebook hopes… Read More

November 4, 2019 @ 11:15 am By JD Alois  |  

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has issued a statement on stablecoins. The concept of stablecoins has endured increasing regulatory scrutiny following the announcement by Facebook that it intends to issue Libra – a stablecoin expected to be backed by fiat currency and other… Read More

October 31, 2019 @ 3:30 am By Cali Haan  |  

Deputy finance ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have been meeting behind closed doors throughout October to devise a strategy to prevent Facebook from launching its proposed Libra cryptocurrency network among its 2.5 billion users next year. According to four sources to Politico EU,… Read More

October 29, 2019 @ 9:53 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Libra lead David Marcus told an audience at Money 20/20 USA in Las Vegas this week that, due to the system’s use of a transparent “blockchain” ledger, Facebook’s proposed in-app (crypto)currency system will manage anti-money laundering (AML) more effectively than current payment systems, Finextra reports. “If… Read More