on the crypto
Temasek, one of the two investment vehicles owned by the Singapore government, is among the latest companies to join the Libra Association, the Facebook consortium set up to create a global digital currency.
Singapore's involvement was already planned from the start
In Libra's initial vision of a new currency supported by a basket of different sovereign currencies, the "sing" had been included alongside the US dollar, the euro and the British pound. And when Libra focused on stablecoins anchored to existing legal currencies last month, it kept the same four currencies as examples.
The recent accession helps to understand the reason for the inclusion of the Singapore dollar since the early days of Libra. "Our membership of the Libra Association as a member will enable us to contribute to a regulated global network for affordable retail payments," said Chia Song Hwee, Temasek's deputy CEO, through a spokesman.
“Many developments in this sector excite us. We are looking forward to further exploring the potential of this technology. ” Libra also recently announced that two companies from investment focused on San Francisco cryptocurrencies they joined the association: Paradigm, co-founded by Coinbase veteran Fred Ehrsam, and Slow Ventures.
The three memberships bring the total number of members on the Libra board to 27. Temasek manages $ 216 billion of assets for the Singapore government and has previously shown a propensity for blockchain businesses.
The funders group becomes the most influential within the Libra Association
The new members increase the group of financiers within the Libra Association, which now has eight members and represents the single largest group by sector with a control of almost 30% on the project.
The three newcomers join the investment companies Andressen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital and Union Square Ventures, all founding members of Libra. By comparison, the association's nonprofit group stopped at five members after joining Heifer International last month.
In a press release, Libra's vice president, Dante Disparte, said that the three memberships "show our commitment to building a diverse group of organizations that will contribute to governance, the technological roadmap and the launch of the payment of Libra ".
A slow Libra operation to replenish its ranks
The consortium initially hoped to involve 100 members by the first half of 2020, the launch date scheduled for the first phase of development. These plans have been modified by regulators whose criticisms have triggered a haemorrhage of founding members and delayed the launch.
In response to this circumstance, Libra has reduced its initial vision and has undertaken to gradually rebuild its ranks. Last week he added a CEO with experience in institutional banks and public finance.
