The Libra Association, the organization behind Facebook’s global digital currency, has three new members, according to an emailed statement from the group. One of them is Singapore’s government-owned investor, Temasek Holdings.
The association’s two other new members are cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm and the private equity group Slow Ventures, which are both based in the United States.
“The addition of three new members to the Libra Association shows our commitment to building a diverse group of organizations that will contribute to the governance, technological roadmap, and launch readiness for the Libra payment system,” said Libra Association vice chairman and head of policy and communications Dante Disparte in the statement.
Last year, Facebook introduced its vision for Libra as an alternative digital payment system, originally planned as a single token based on a basket of currencies. Authorities around the world quickly raised concern that Libra would leverage Facebook’s massive user base, forming a de facto global private central bank that reduces the monetary autonomy of existing central banks.
The social media giant scaled down its proposal in April, planning on a more traditional approach using multiple digital coins each tied to existing currencies—such as the US dollar—in order to win regulatory approval. Experts claimed the new scheme can merge more easily with domestic monetary, financial, and regulatory frameworks, and that it doesn’t threaten existing monetary autonomy.
Previously, a number of major payment companies pulled out of the project. These include Visa, Mastercard, eBay, Stripe, and Paypal. However, the Libra Association still has other nonprofit and e-commerce firms as members.
