Expert: Walmart Crypto Project More Agreeable to Lawmakers Than Libra

A senior policy analyst at investment banking corporation Cowen, Jaret Seiberg, said that Walmart’s proposed digital coin should not face as much regulatory pushback as Libra, Facebook’s proposed virtual currency.

As Bloomberg reports on Aug. 5, Seiberg also added that Walmart’s crypto may have a demographic appeal to Democratic legislators who are keen to find an alternative financial infrastructure for people who do not regularly use banks.

According to Seiberg, Libra and Walmart’s crypto proposal differ in scale. Seiberg comments that Facebook has global intentions which do not appear to be shared by Walmart. 

Possible regulatory hangups

However, Seiberg noted that Walmart’s proposal will not likely get automatic approval from Congress. He pointed out that, for instance, Walmart’s coin could be viewed as a threat to small banks and credit unions. Ultimately, though, Seiberg believes that lawmakers would eventually approve Walmart’s proposal.

Regarding the details of Walmart’s proposed currency, Seiberg wrote to clients on Monday that the currency may come in the form of a stored value card that is pegged to the U.S. dollar, somewhat like a rechargeable gift card.

Bloomberg reports that Walmart is not moving to roll out its cryptocurrency in the near future. According to the report, a Walmart spokesperson said on Friday that it is not planning to immediately take advantage of its newly-filed patent.

Walmart’s digital currency patent

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Walmart filed for a patent for a “System and Method for Digital Currency via Blockchain” that was published on Aug. 1. As outlined in the patent, Walmart appears to be filing for a standard, fiat-pegged stablecoin as outlined in the following passage:

“Generating one digital currency unit by tying the one digital currency unit to a regular currency; storing information of the one digital currency unit into a block of a blockchain; buying or paying the one digital currency unit.”