Canadian ecommerce giant has joined the Libra Association
When Facebook set out its bold vision to reinvent global payments through a blockchain-based stable coin it was always going to be a bumpy road ahead.
Cryptocurrencies have a volatile history and while the entry of Facebook into the space gave the market an initial boost, it has also intensified the interest of global securities regulators.
Now Canada’s global ecommerce success story Shopify has joined the non-profit association dedicated to building Facebook’s payments platform vision.
“As online commerce becomes increasingly borderless, it’s easy to forget that payments and the value exchange of goods are not a solved problem everywhere. Much of the world’s financial infrastructure was not built to handle the scale and needs of internet commerce,” Shopify said in a statement.
In joining the Libra Association, the firm joins a group that includes Uber, investment firms Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. But some key players have left the group include Mastercard and Vodafone.
Making banking better
Last week JPMorgan said that the future for digital money is bright.
Ina report it wrote: “2019 will be remembered for the rise of digital money,” the bank said in the report. “The groundwork is now in place for more mainstream adoption of blockchain technology at the same time that the foundation is being established for the development of digital currency and fast payments.”
But it criticized Facebook’s Libra project: “The failed release of Facebook’s Libra serves as a reminder that rapid adoption faces practical challenges to attain scale.”
For Shopify though, joining the Libra Association fits with its mission to support the entrepreneurial journey of the merchants on its platform and it says it is the first step to be part of the solution to the global issue of making money and banking better.
“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,” the firm’s statement added.
Shopify was recently picked among the best performers in Taylor Frigon Capital Management’s growth portfolio.
The firm’s CEO Tobi Lutke tweeted about its decision to join the Libra Association on Friday.
Shopify spends a lot of 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. https://t.co/w8NWY874xr
— Tobi Lutke 🌳🌲🛒🕹 (@tobi) February 21, 2020
