Apparently one of Facebook’s most ambitious projects is running out of support. Cybersecurity specialists report that some large payment management companies, such as MasterCard, Visa, eBay, Stripe and Mercado Pago have decided to abandon the Libra Project, the cryptocurrency developed by the social network.
Apparently these companies are following the example of PayPal, which in previous days announced that it would abandon the project. Financial Times experts believe this to be a severe blow to Facebook and its intentions to develop a massively and globally used means of payment. With the exception of the Dutch firm PayU, all payment management companies that had shown interest in Libra have already quit the deal.
Another factor to consider is the strict scrutiny under which this project is found, as legislators, entrepreneurs and regulators still have too many doubts about the use of virtual assets and their potential impact on a nation’s economy. To address some of these concerns, Mark Zuckerberg will appear before the US House of Representatives on October 23.
On the other hand, some members of the cybersecurity community consider that the inherent features of cryptocurrencies make them an efficient means for money laundering derived from criminal activities; in addition they believe that Libra will be no exception.
Through the Libra Association, an entity that Facebook established to manage any matter related to the project, the social network stated: “We appreciate the support for the consolidation of the Libra Project; even though the structure of the project may change over time we firmly believe that we will be able to consolidate a stable and growing payment network.”
David Marcus, in charge of the Libra Project, said Facebook has interpreted this incident as a “liberation”, adding that there is nothing written about the fate of the cryptocurrency. Marcus served as PayPal president before joining Facebook.
A few days ago, specialists from the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) reported that France’s Ministry of Finance announced a kind of boycott against the use of Libra throughout the European Union; making the cybersecurity community and virtual asset enthusiasts foresee an uncertain future for this project.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
