PayPal has dropped out of Facebook’s cryptocurrency network, which would be managed by the Swiss nonprofit Libra Association.
“PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations,” a PayPay spokesperson told The Hill in a statement on Saturday.
“We remain supportive of Libra’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future. Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities,” the spokesperson added.
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Libra project leader David Marcus is the former president of PayPal.
A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment, directing The Hill to the Libra Association.
“It requires a certain boldness and fortitude to take on an endeavor as ambitious as Libra – a generational opportunity to get things right and improve financial inclusion,” Dante Disparte, the Libra Association’s head of policy and communications, said in a statement.
“The type of change that will reconfigure the financial system to be tilted towards people, not the institutions serving them, will be hard. Commitment to that mission is more important to us than anything else,” Disparte added. “We’re better off knowing about this lack of commitment now, rather than later.”
Some lawmakers have expressed skepticism of Project Libra, which is being backed by more than two dozen companies.
“If Facebook’s plans come to fruition, the company and its partners will yield immense economic power,” House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine WatersMaxine Moore WatersPayPal drops out of Facebook cryptocurrency network Hillicon Valley: Iranian hacking operation targeted campaign, government accounts | House panel pushes Zuckerberg to testify on Libra | Trump officials step up attacks on Facebook encryption On The Money: Economy adds 136K jobs in September | Jobless rate at 50-year low | Treasury IG to probe handling of Trump tax returns request | House presses Zuckerberg to testify on digital currency MORE (D-Calif.) said at a July hearing on the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Visa, Mastercard and others were reconsidering their participation in the network.
Members of the House Financial Services Committee want Facebook executives to return to Washington to testify on Libra, CNBC reported Friday.
Updated: 10:50 a.m.