When Facebook announced its plans for a cryptocurrency, it said its goal was to reinvent money for the internet age and “promote financial inclusion.”
Now Libra has an unsuspecting player who wants to beat them to it: China.
China – who blocks Facebook’s platforms within its borders – wants a state-issued e-currency, even though the country has restricted the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for years.
The New York Times reports that the e-currency would help China’s government know more about how its citizens spend their money.
According to the newspaper, this e-currency would give the government widespread new powers to fight crime and manage the economy, while also raising privacy concerns.
Meanwhile, Facebook has been fighting to defend Libra against sceptical regulators, as key corporate partners are pulling out of the project.
Tech Crunch reports that online payments company PayPal was the first to drop out.
Since then, financial services companies Mastercard and Visa have also unfriended Facebook’s initiative.
E-commerce company eBay will also no longer be a partner.
But China’s ambitions for their state-issued e-currency, appear to be moving ahead at full speed.
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