Initial Backers of Facebook’s Libra Consortium Second Guessing Decision to Join

Visa, PayPal, Mastercard, and Stripe, all of whom signed non-binding agreements to be a part of the Libra consortium, are now unsure of whether they want to go ahead with Libra. According to Bloomberg sources, the companies are being asked to confirm their intent by October 14, when the charter signing is scheduled to take place, October 2, 2019. The companies are backtracking based on public sentiment and concerns around Facebook’s past.

Regulators Strike a Fearful Chord

American regulatory agencies and government bodies have been making life incredibly difficult for Facebook and Libra. When Libra was announced, it was expected to receive government backing due to Facebook’s lobbying firepower and sheer size. Contrary to this belief, regulators have doubled down on their criticism of Libra and are looking quite intent to strike it down.

The four payment companies who are battling with uncertainty revealed that they aren’t comfortable because of how Facebook oversold the level of comfort regulators would feel with Libra. In recent days, it has become apparent that discussions with the government are still nowhere near being fruitful for Facebook.

David Marcus, head of Calibra, announced that the first wave of Libra participants will be unveiled in October. In order to reiterate their focus on progressing slowly through baby steps, the companies joining the consortium will not be required to immediately contribute the $10 million of investment previously agreed upon.

A spokesperson for Stripe rejected the idea that there is uncertainty, claiming to still be actively working with other charter participants to bring Libra to life.

Libra Zooms Past Internal Deadlines

Diogo Monica, a co-founder of Anchorage (also a part of Libra Association), has said that Libra has been surpassing internal deadlines and several partners are already testing transactions and node deployment – but without real money.

The technology is currently being tweaked in order to appease regulators, and this shows the consortium’s willingness to conform to regulations, as they have stated time and time again.

Facebook wants Libra to be as simple as “sending a text” and is working on an intuitive user-interface. Behind the scenes, all involved companies have been hard at work, proving that regulators haven’t extinguished the Libra consortium’s desire to launch a global currency.