The US money transfer services website PayPal announced on Friday that it has withdrawn from the Libra Association, which, led by Facebook, is seeking to build a global digital currency.
PayPal said it would abandon any other participation in the group, saying it would instead focus on its core business. She said in a statement : “We continue to support LIBRA’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future.”
PayPal is the first financial supporter to withdraw from the Libra Association after Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that it had not yet decided to formally join the cryptocurrency.
“We are looking forward to the first meeting of the Libra Council in 10 days and we will be sharing the updates afterwards, including details of the 1,500 bodies that have shown great interest in participating,” Libra said in a tweet posted on its Twitter account.
PayPal’s announcement to withdraw from the Libra Association coincides with the publication of an EU document stating that EU finance ministers will tell their counterparts at the G20 meeting in mid-October that a global regulatory response to “stable currencies” is needed, Like Libra from Facebook.
Facebook announced its cryptocurrency three months ago and said it plans to launch it in June 2020, in partnership with other members of the Libra Society set up by Facebook to manage the project.
However, the attempt to make cryptocurrencies prevail has since been met with regulatory and political uncertainties worldwide, with France and Germany pledging to prevent Libra from operating in Europe.
Libra’s cryptocurrency, believed to have come from Facebook’s bid to expand e-commerce, will be backed by real-world asset reserves, including bank deposits and short-term government securities, which are overseen by the 28-member association member.
The structure of the cryptocurrency is designed to enhance confidence and stabilize price fluctuations in cryptocurrencies and render them impractical for trade and payments.
Source : Paypal