It’s been a prolonged period since we’ve heard any updates regarding the Libra Association, with a large percentage of financial analysts believing that Facebook had given up on their cryptocurrency tasks. It was announced on February 21st that Shopify has joined the Libra Association. This shocked those financial analysts, with this Canadian-based Ecommerce brand joining at a critical moment in the association’s future. Facebook has lost key partners like eBay, Visa, PayPal and Mastercard.
It’s also been rumoured that Vodafone terminated their partnership with the Libra Association, with news outlets citing that the telecommunications provider will re-route their recourse towards personalized digital payment efforts. This means consumers can expect an additional cryptocurrency coin from Vodafone in the coming years. These cancelled partnerships followed several to nine months after Facebook first created the Libra stablecoin. It didn’t take long for an association of partners to be created, with their headquarters being located in Switzerland to avoid regulation purgatory.
Twenty-Eight Members opted in to join the Libra Association, with several confirmed cancellations of contracts. Shopify joining Facebook on their cryptocurrency venture brings the total partners back to Twenty-Two. It’s expected that the total cancelled contracts are eight, with Facebook calling these cancellations a Max Exodus. It should be noted that Facebook has struggled with countless financial hurdles through regulation and government entities. Visa, PayPal, MasterCard, eBay and Vodafone didn’t want to engage with a potential illegal behaviour.
Shopify Looking Towards the Future
Shopify provided a public statement regarding their newly formed partnership with Facebook. Representatives said: “Our mission is to make commerce better for everyone and to do that, we spend a lot of our time thinking about how to make commerce better in parts of the world where money and banking could be far better. That’s why we decided to become a member of the Libra Association. As a member of the Libra Association, we will work collectively to build a payment network that makes money easier to access and supports merchants and consumers everywhere.”
Shopify finished their statements by saying: “Our mission has always been to support the entrepreneurial journey of the more than one million merchants on our platform. That means advocating for transparent fees and easy access to capital and ensuring the security and privacy of our merchants’ customer data. We want to create an infrastructure that empowers more entrepreneurs around the world.”
Haydn Franklin
