Yahoo – AFP, September 14, 2019
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PayPal is part of the nonprofit Libra Association, which will oversee the blockchain-based coin, maintaining a real-world asset reserve to keep its value stable (AFP Photo/Handout) |
San
Francisco (AFP) - PayPal is cautious about the future of Facebook-backed
cryptocurrency Libra, which is slated to debut with the pioneering digital
payments firm as part of its oversight association.
International
outcry is mounting over Libra -- with central banks, governments and regulators
railing against Facebook's upstart cryptocurrency and questions over how it
would be regulated.
The social
media giant unveiled plans in June for Libra -- which will roll out in 2020 --
to be backed by a basket of currency assets to avoid the wild swings of Bitcoin
and other virtual units.
"It's
a non-binding commitment," PayPal investor relations vice president
Gabrielle Rabinovitch said Thursday of the California-based company signing on
to the Libra Association.
"And
obviously, I think there's a lot of work to happen before we get to that point
where it becomes something more than just a very exciting idea."
The nonprofit
Libra Association, based in Geneva, will oversee the blockchain-based coin,
maintaining a real-world asset reserve to keep its value stable.
Facebook
envisioned Libra as a new global cryptocurrency, pledging to deliver a stable
virtual money that lives on smartphones and could bring over a billion
"unbanked" people into the financial system.
Hundreds of
billions of dollars are transferred annually between migrants and loved ones in
their home countries, and PayPal is a player in that sector.
"The
goals and ambitions of Libra are very consistent with PayPal's overall
ambitions in terms of serving the underserved; democratizing access to
capital," Rabinovitch said.
"So we
very much believe in the potential of Libra."
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