Some of the biggest names in Facebook’s embattled Libra Association have joined a rival stablecoin project, which touts its mission as the promotion of financial inclusion using the blockchain. Dubbed the “Celo Alliance for Prosperity,” the project was unveiled on March 11, with key Libra backers Coinbase Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Anchorage Mercy Corps and Bison Trails Co. joining the ranks of its 50 founding members. The combined reach of the Alliance members at launch is ostensibly estimated at 400 million people. Aside from veterans of the Libra Association, high-profile members of the Celo Alliance include Carbon, GiveDirectly, Grameen Foundation, Maple, …

So, how high is Bitcoin about to go? Analyst Willy Woo thinks it’s going to hit $135,000. It’s a “common-sense prediction” he told RT’s Keiser Report. Tim Draper is betting even higher. The venture capitalist has moved his money out of the stock market (too “frothy”) and put it into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (a “safe haven.”) He expects BTC to reach $250,000 in 2022 or the start of 2023. It’s no wonder that so many Bitcoin whales continue to hodl. According to one study, only 41.6 percent of BTC supply moved over the last twelve months. Some 42 percent …

The second day of Fintech Worldwide’s Blockchain Summit kicked off to unusually glorious sunshine. But you’d be hard pressed to notice that in the venue because there was no natural light filtering through to the handful of attendees that braved the ongoing coronavirus scare. Despite COVID-19’s spectre looming large over the conference, panelists spoke about an impressive range of topics, including how Blockchain can help local women in the Maasai Mara, to the day’s debate on the state of adoption. As MakerDAO’s Gustav Arentoft told me during the conference, speakers in London often come from a more institutional perspective that …

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Crypto Valley Association President Daniel Haudenschild said that central bank digital currencies are “the next logical stage.” Haudenschild explained to Cointelegraph that he believes CBDCs are the next stage “in evolution for decentralized finance.” He also claimed that there are currently 34 CBDC projects. According to him, such digital currencies represent a new era of governments and traditional finance that recognize the potential of digital assets. Central banks innovate to avoid being left behind Fear of being left behind, Haudenschild admitted, is a major force driving countries to innovate, “Undoubtedly, the drive of digital …

Facebook may be considering modifying its plan for the 2020 release of the cryptocurrency Libra. When the social media giant introduced Libra last year, it did so claiming the cryptocurrency would be a simple global currency with the power to transform the global economy. Regulators quickly took notice, and found the company had to offer more questions than answers as to what the digital currency would be. Though Libra is still going forward, Facebook will now offer government-issued currencies like dollars and euros to support its own token. The move appears to be a way to appease reluctant regulators and …

Jon Cuncliffe, the deputy governor for financial stability of the United Kingdom’s central bank, the Bank of England (BoE), has warned that the emergence of a cryptocurrency economy may weaken or eliminate bank credit issuance. In a speech delivered to the London School of Economics on Feb. 28, Cunliffe predicted that the integration of stablecoins on social media platforms could lead to people putting much of their money currently held with banks into stablecoin wallets, warning: “In such a world, and depending how and whether stablecoins were backed with other financial assets, the supply of credit to the real economy …

The experts have had a rough few days. Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Digital Creek, spoke to CNN about Warren Buffett’s poor view of Bitcoin. The Sage of Omaha had said that he doesn’t own any BTC and sees no value in digital currencies. Pompliano argued that Buffett might be a whiz when it comes to spotting stocks but he’s not so great when it comes to technology. Someone else who turned out not to be so great at technology is an anonymous Chinese crypto whale who is reported to have lost $30 million worth of BCH and …

Tagomi, a crypto prime broker headquartered in New York, will join the Libra Association, the governing body for the Facebook-led stablecoin. Tagomi was founded by Jennifer Campbell in 2018, a former associate at Union Square Ventures. Tagomi will become the Libra Association’s 22nd member. Members of the association are expected to contribute at least $10 million to the Libra Reserve, which holds the assets that back the cryptocurrency. Tagomi has raised $28 million to date, making a $10 million commitment a large amount for a two-year-old startup. It should be noted that some of the biggest names in crypto are …

Bank of England (BoE) chief cashier Sarah John has expressed opinions favoring state-issued digital currencies, according to a Feb. 22 article published by The Telegraph. She urged other central banks to consider developing central bank cryptocurrencies in response to recent moves from private companies’ in the digital payments sector. John stated that it is “really important” to consider that central banks think about” central bank digital currencies [CBDCs] “as an option” in responding to major tech companies’ efforts to develop stablecoins. The BoE official warned that inaction may result in regulators being forced to play catch-up with private companies in …

Digital lead for Calibra Ben Maurer gave a presentation on Facebook's Move programming language at the Stanford Blockchain Conference on Feb. 19. Move was created by Facebook to provide a safe and programmable foundation for the Libra blockchain. Maurer explained that Move will make it easier and more secure to program financial applications that run on Libra. He said: “Move is a new smart contract language built into the core of Libra that is designed to bring a modern approach to today’s financial systems.” Maurer mentioned that Libra’s mission is to solve the lack of access to financial services, noting …

E-commerce giant Shopify has joined the Libra Association, a network of founding members supporting Facebook's stablecoin project Libra. Shopify, a major Canada-based digital commerce platform hosting more than one million merchants, will be collaborating on the establishment of a global payment network within the Libra Association, the firm officially announced on Feb. 21. The Libra Foundation has confirmed the news in a Facebook post, outlining that Shopify would be an “incredible partner in making widespread economic participation a reality.” Shopify believes that traditional financial system wasn’t built for Internet commerce In the announcement, Shopify claimed that its action to join …

Governments around the world are facing hard choices when it comes to cryptocurrency: overregulate it and risk losing the benefits to the economy, or do nothing and make themselves vulnerable to those who step up. Currently, the European Union can’t figure out what to do about Libra, the digital currency set to be released by Facebook in 2020. According to a Feb. 19 memo released by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis on behalf of the European Commission, the Libra Association has fallen short in its responses to questions from the EU. As a result, any information provided by Facebook “remains insufficient for …