Viewpoint: Libra’s Top-Down Model Doesn’t Match Its Financial Inclusion Mission

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Long-awaited for the past year, the latest to join the existing pool of offerings to serve emerging markets is Libra. Beyond being differentiated by its immediately accessible market, enabled by the approximately 2.4 billion Facebook users around the world and the social media giant’s built-in Calibra wallet, Libra is also a “stable digital cryptocurrency.”

Supported by the technical infrastructure of the Libra blockchain, the currency is also backed by a basket of assets that are characterized by their “stability, low inflation, wide global acceptance, and fungibility.” Beyond the benefits of blockchain, however, to what extent is Libra poised to deliver on this promise of financial inclusion?

Having secured the (nonbinding) support of 28 leading conglomerates, ranging from e-commerce companies such as eBay and Farfetch, ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft, as well as payment providers Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and more, the Libra Association seemingly appears to comprise a diverse group.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Source: PaymentsSource (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance
Tags
cryptocurrency, financial inclusion