Libra is "important catalytic event" / Seven members leave / Carney defends Libra

Inside Libra presented by Keeps.

Presented by Subscribe | View in browser 1. Sweden's central bank chief has said that Facebook's proposed Libra stablecoin is an "incredibly important catalytic event." Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe," Stefan Ingves, governor of the Riksbank, said that the introduction of Libra "shook the tree" and forced the banking world to think about what their role is. Similar to many other central banks, the Riksbank is considering the potential role that digital currencies can have and is looking to pilot its e-krona currency later this year. If all goes well, Sweden's central bank could introduce the coin should it "wish to do so." –CNBC Why It's Important: Despite Libra receiving negative views from global regulators and the banking world, the views from Ingves demonstrate that not all think the same. In fact, the potential introduction of Libra has given the banking industry the perfect opportunity to step up its game if it wants to avoid a business from becoming a monetary global leader.       2. Seven of the original founding members of the Libra Association have left the project amid regulatory concerns. The seven include PayPal, eBay, Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Booking Holding, and Kayak and Priceline. The departure of the companies leaves 21 members such as Uber, Spotify, Vodafone, and Lyft. According to Libra Association policy head Dante Disparte, the withdrawals were a "correction" and "not a setback." The shrinkage of the Libra Association comes as the organization held its inaugural meeting in Geneva earlier this week and elected its Board of Directors. –ENGADGET       A MESSAGE FROM KEEPS Keep more hair on your head and more money in your wallet. Keeps is the easiest way to stop hair loss (and even regrow some of what you've lost). Their FDA-approved treatments are delivered directly to your door in discreet packaging. Plus, at less than $1 a day, keeping your hair has never been more affordable. Get 50% off your first 3 months 3. The 21 remaining members of Libra have officially signed paperwork to join the Libra Association. On Monday, they signed a formal charter in Geneva outlining their commitment to the project. However, it is in no way binding as they can leave at any time. While the organization has yet to appoint a CEO, they have a senior team such as former PayPal directors Bertrand Perez, who will take the role of COO, and Kurt Hemecker as head of business development. Even while some high profile companies have left, Facebook believes that it can have 100 members when the cryptocurrency launches next year, and that 1,500 organizations have shown interest in joining. –THE IRISH TIMES       4. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has defended Libra, arguing that the U.K.'s payment system is "not good enough in this day and age." Following the departure of Mastercard and Visa, Carney laid out a case that involves a revolution for the payments industry in the U.K. According to the governor, the country needs to face up to its payment problems and bring its system up-to-date with emerging and advanced economies. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Carney stated that payments are costly in the U.K. while small businesses are hampered by expensive cross-border transactions, with organizations waiting up to three days to receive payments. In his opinion, in this day and age, payments should be "instantaneous," it should be "virtually costless," and it "should be 100pc resilient." –THE TELEGRAPH       5. In this article, former members of the Libra Association indicated that Libra went wrong for Facebook because it underestimated the regulated scrutiny the project would attract. Even though Facebook has attempted to pitch Libra as a separate entity, which it is, some believe that it's tied too closely to the social media platform, particularly at a time when it is being criticized for privacy-related scandals. As a result, many high profile companies that were initially part of the association have decided to step away from it. –FINANCIAL TIMES       6. David Marcus, the co-creator of Libra, has said "it wasn't a tough week" for the organization following the departure of seven high profile companies from the project. Since being announced in June, governments around the world have voiced their concerns about the proposed coin, which won't be run by Facebook. However, Marcus has stressed that it's just an idea at the moment with room for improvement. "It's kind of odd that all of this is happening at the stage of this project because it's a project. It's an idea. It's a whitepaper. Nothing is operating yet," he said when asked about the political pressure. "It's kind of sad in a way to see all the issues that we currently have with the current system." –CNBC       7. Terry Gou, the founder of Taiwanese manufacturing company Foxconn, has said that the country could improve its status as an international financial hub if it embraces Libra. He went on to say that Taiwan could connect the proposed coin with the cryptocurrency that is being developed by China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBoC). In his opinion, Taiwan could become a place where the monetary systems "converge." –COIN DESK       8. Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has called U.S. senators "un-American" over their opposition to Libra. Armstrong was referring to joint letters by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), which were sent to the CEOs of Mastercard, Visa, and Stripe urging them not to participate in the project. According to Coinbase's CEO, the letters were labeled as "intimidation tactics." –THE EXPRESS       This newsletter was written and curated by Rebecca Campbell. She has been writing and reporting on various industries for the past 10 years, more specifically tech in the last three. Connect with her on Twitter. Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).       Ad Stop your hair loss before it's too late. Get 50% off your first 3 months of Keeps today.

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