IBM Considers Joining the Libra Association

IBM, a formidable force in the distributed ledger technology (DLT) space has made it clear that its open to collaborating with Facebook to make the social media giant’s Libra cryptocurrency project a huge success, reports CNBC on September 23, 2019.

IBM Open to Working with Libra Consortium

Tech and blockchain heavyweight IBM may be hatching plans to join the growing list of big whales that have already pitched their tents with Facebook, which could be a bid to make the highly controversial social networking firm’s global stablecoin dream a reality.

In an interview with CNBC, Jason Kelley, IBM’s general manager of blockchain services made it clear that one of the key objectives of the 108-year-old firm is foster blockchain adoption across industries and as such, the company is open to forging alliances with businesses around the world.

Notably, IBM has always been at the frontline of the computer revolution and it’s now also among the companies working hard to transform virtually all sectors of the global economy with blockchain technology.

Last August, IBM joined forces with several highly reputed firms including GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, Cisco, Lenovo, and others to launch a robust blockchain-based supply chain management solution that would enable at least 4,000 companies in North America to significantly cut down supply chain costs while also curbing fraudulent practices.

Facebook’s Libra Legitimizing DLT

Commenting on the firm’s stance towards the much-talked-about Project Libra, Kelley stated categorically that IBM and its partners are open to collaborating with Facebook and the Geneva-based Libra Association to make it work.

“Blockchain is a team sport. Our clients are ready to work with Facebook and we’re also ready to work with all of them to bring it together,”



Interestingly, Kelly also hinted that even though blockchain technology, the solid foundation behind bitcoin and altcoins is already gaining significant traction in various industries, including its use in the tokenization of assets, Facebook’s cryptocurrency project undoubtedly brings more legitimacy to DLT.

Whilst Facebook has since made it clear that Libra is not designed to be a threat to sovereign fiat currencies, but a stablecoin backed 1:1 by a basket of fiat currencies, regulators in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world remain wary of the project.

Earlier in September, French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire declared that Libra will not be allowed to operate freely in Europe and on September 18, 2019, BTCManager reported that Germany had implemented a new blockchain strategy to crush private stablecoin projects in the region.