After a spate of big names parting ways with the Libra Association late last year such as Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, and Ebay, British telecommunications giant Vodafone has become the latest to bid the ambitious digital asset project farewell. While Vodafone’s statement notes it does not rule out the possibility of working with Libra in the future, a statement issued Tuesday by the Libra Association confirms the exit.
The companies left owing to concerns about heightened regulatory scrutiny.
“Vodafone is no longer a member of the Libra Association,” Dante Disparte, head of policy and communication for the association, said in a statement. “Although the makeup of the Association members may change over time, the design of Libra’s governance and technology ensures the Libra payment system will remain resilient.”
Despite top-notch firms pulling out, Facebook and 20 partner organisations formally joined the digital currency Libra project in Geneva in October.
The Libra Association said that more than 1,500 entities have expressed an interest in joining the digital currency project.
Several US senators have opposed Facebook’s digital coin, arguing that the social networking giant has been irresponsible with user data privacy. They have even called the digital cryptocurrency Libra “delusional” and “dangerous”.
As reported by Reuters, a former Bank of Japan executive revealed that the step followed concerns around Libra which triggered a global competition among central banks to make their currencies more appealing.
“Something like Libra would make transactions costs much cheaper. Major central banks need to appeal that they, too, are making efforts to make settlement more efficient with better use of digital technology,” the official told Reuters.
