[ad_1]
Booking Holdings exited Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency initiative as the Libra Association was slated to convene in Geneva Monday, Skift has learned.
The online travel company — the only travel company among the founding members — confirmed the move.
Booking Holdings’ decision followed the departures of fellow founding members MasterCard, Visa, Paypal, eBay, and Stripe, according to published reports.
The Connecticut-based online travel company, which generated $9.2 billion in revenue in 2018 and has the world’s largest business selling accommodations, wanted to avoid the controversy that’s developing around Libra, a source said.
That controversy includes pushback from regulators in the U.S. and France. Regulators have argued that Libra, a project that Facebook initiated but would be run through the Libra Association, could contribute to undermining the global economic system.
Booking Holdings hasn’t ruled out getting involved anew with the Libra Association in the future, the source added.
Founding members of the Libra Association, which included more than two dozen companies, were to contribute some $10 million each to show their commitment to developing the Libra cryptocurrency, which was slated to launch in 2020.
Booking Holdings and likely other founding members hadn’t paid that sum, pending further development of the association. The Libra Association was to discuss a charter and to name board members at the Geneva meeting on Monday.
Global travel companies such as Booking Holdings, Airbnb, and Expedia Group have a keen interest in developing diverse payment systems to enable people around the world to conduct e-commerce. Booking Holdings had viewed Libra as an element in that drive to enhance its payment systems.
Photo Credit: Mastercard, Visa, and now Booking Holdings are among the companies that have exited Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency initiative. Associated Press
[ad_2]
Source link