Facebook’s Libra isn’t out to replace existing money, Perez claims

Libra isn’t out to overhaul the existing currencies, the project’s head recently stated. Ever since Facebook announced the intention to launch the crypto, it has faced opposition from several policy makers who believe that it could negatively affect their countries’ monetary structures. However, the project’s head wants us to know that Libra will benefit the users and strengthen their economies, not threaten their currencies.

Bertrand Perez, the managing director of the Libra Association was speaking during a blockchain conference organized by the United Nations in Geneva, the city where the association is based.

“We are not in the area of implementing any monetary policy with the (Libra) Reserve,” he stated.

Instead, Perez believes that Libra will help the UN achieve many of its sustainable development goals. These include elimination of poverty and achieving gender equality, he stated during the event which included speakers from the International Monetary Fund and the Swiss National Bank.

And it’s not just Libra that promises to help the UN achieve its goals, with blockchain technology being at the heart of the discussions in the recently-held United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

One of the speakers at the event, Dr. Jane Thomason, a global thought leader in social impact stated, “It is early days, but in the social benevolence and impact space, the application of blockchain for remittances, financial inclusion, green bonds and new forms of financing are receiving increasing prominence in global discussions at 2019 UNGA.”

The relentless opposition to Libra seems to have forced Facebook to reconsider its strategy, with Mark Zuckerberg recently acknowledging that the company may have to push the launch date. In a recent interview, Zuckerberg revealed that the social media company is more interested in getting Libra right rather than launching it fast.

He stated, “Obviously we want to move forward at some point soon [and] not have this take many years to roll out…But right now I’m really focused on making sure that we do this well.”

Zuckerberg was speaking in Japan, the latest country to voice its opposition to Libra. The governor of the Bank of Japan recently called out on regulators globally to apply the highest standards of compliance to Libra as it could have a huge impact on society once introduced.