Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Facebook puts on brave face with Libra

Facebook puts on brave face with Libra

Facebook's cryptocurrency project still aims to launch next year, despite high-profile partners dropping out.

After five major payments providers pulled out last week, Facebook’s Libra currency project looked to be on the rocks.

But the remaining members have insisted it’s full steam ahead.

The 21 founding companies in the Libra Association - down from 28 when the project was first announced - met for the first time in Geneva on Monday.

A spokesman told the BBC he believed the currency was still on track to launch next year.

But, he added, it would only do so if suitable regulatory approval had been granted.

It comes after a stern warning from the G7 group of nations that Libra risked disrupting the global financial order.

That concern followed a letter to payments providers from US senators Brian Shatz and Sherrod Brown, sent on 8 October, that threatened “a high level of scrutiny from regulators not only on Libra-related payment activities, but on all payment activities”.

Libra Association spokesman Dante Disparte criticised the senators, telling the BBC the letter “stifles private market innovation”.

“At some level it confounds the regulatory process and the law-making process of free market economies,” Mr Disparte said in a phone call on Monday.

The interference created a “problematic precedent for the state of private sector innovation”, he added.


Another drop-out


Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, eBay, PayPal and Mercado Pago were the six firms that dropped out ahead of Monday’s meeting. On Monday morning, it was revealed that Booking Holdings - the firm behind Booking.com - had also pulled out.

The remaining 21 members all confirmed their commitment to the project at the Geneva meeting. Among them are rideshare firms Uber and Lyft, prominent venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, music streaming service Spotify, and the sales and services arm of telecoms company Vodafone.

Netherlands-based PayU is the only remaining member operating in the online payments processing sector.

“We believe that the design of the Libra ecosystem has the potential to address a number of societal needs,” a PayU spokesperson said, in a statement sent out by the Libra Association.


Search on for CEO


Of the 21 companies, representatives from five of the firms were elected to form the Libra Association’s board, with Facebook’s David Marcus among them. Bertrand Perez, a former senior director at PayPal, was appointed chief operating officer and interim managing director.

The board would soon set up a search committee to appoint a permanent chief executive, Mr Disparte said.

He added that many more firms were interested in joining the association.

“More than 1,500 organisations have expressed an interest in joining this effort,” Mr Disparte said.

“Even though aspects of that have been difficult in the last few months.”

In response to mounting concerns, Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been called to appear before a congressional panel on 23 October to discuss Libra, and likely other issues involving his firm.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
×