The Libra Association has added another member to its long list of governing firms. This time, the addition comes in the form of Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ld. In Singapore. The company is a state-owned investment firm and will assist in all future decision-making when it comes to Facebook’s official currency.
Libra Sees Temasek Join Up
In a statement, the Association explains:
Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, brings a differentiated position as an Asia-focused investor.
In addition, companies such as Paradigm and Slow Ventures have also stepped aboard the Facebook-crypto train. Temasek expressed excitement over being part of the program. International deputy chief executive officer Chia Song Hwee explained in a statement:
Our participation in the Libra Association as a member will allow us to contribute toward a regulated global network for cost effective retail payments. Many developments in the space excite us. We look forward to further exploring the potential of the technology.
This would all be fine and dandy, though as of late, one must wonder if all this is still worth it. Libra, as it stands, has had to seriously lower itself and limit its prospects due to the COVID-19 crisis that’s been meandering throughout the globe, and while the coronavirus isn’t likely to last forever, Libra has made it clear that it’s looking to get off the ground very soon. So soon, in fact, that project members have even worked to downgrade Libra by reducing it to just a basket of stable currencies, rather than a specific asset backed by stable currencies.
In addition, regulatory uncertainty still clouds the air surrounding the asset. Over the last year, many initial Libra members – such as PayPal, Visa and Mastercard – have come and gone. They joined the Libra Association, only to leave months later after deciding that the regulatory environment was just too iffy. They were worried about what would strike the project later in terms of congressional opposition, and they wanted nothing to do with that.
The exit of PayPal was particularly embarrassing in that David Marcus – the head of Facebook’s blockchain department and the primary developer of Libra – came from PayPal. The fact that his own (former) company wanted nothing to do with his future project is a little disconcerting.
Will the Project Continue On?
Still, Libra seems eager to make its mark, and is adding new players left and right. The project recently saw another major member in Checkout.com join up earlier this month. In a statement, the company offered praise for Libra and explained:
The Libra project holds the promise of increasing financial inclusion for billions of unbanked people.
The goal of Libra is to give unbanked populations a way to purchase goods and services through Facebook. This has led to heavy concern over how Facebook plans to protect financial data.
