Libra loses Booking Holdings' support, but continues with association draft laws at Geneva meeting, appoints members from a16z, Xapo, PayU, more to its board
Four months after Facebook unveiled the Libra Association with 28 founding members including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Uber, and Coinbase, the coalition is fraying exactly along the lines earlier coverage flagged: partners had only nonbinding agreements, and by October sources said Visa, Mastercard, and other financial partners were reconsidering their involvement. Booking Holdings' withdrawal is the first named exit confirmed at an association meeting, not just sourcing chatter.
The response is telling: rather than replacing lost payments giants with equivalent names, the board slots go to a16z, Xapo, and PayU — crypto-native and emerging-markets players — while work on draft association laws proceeds in Geneva. The consortium's composition is shifting before it has even finalized its own legal structure.
First-order effects
Booking Holdings' exit thins the merchant and travel-side representation that distinguished Libra's launch roster, while the new board members inherit responsibility for the draft laws being negotiated in Geneva.
Second-order effects
Other wavering backers — the financial partners reported reconsidering and those discussing how to distance themselves (at least three per the FT) — now see a low-cost exit path that carries no legal penalty, since no member ever paid to join.
Third-order effects
If departures continue, Libra risks becoming a crypto-and-fintech consortium rather than the cross-industry coalition announced in June, deepening the very legitimacy gap with banks and regulators it was designed to close.
The trend: Corporate consortia built to legitimize Big Tech currency projects are proving reversible, with member churn concentrating control among the founders most committed to the original bet.
1/ Awesome day today at our inaugural Libra Association member council! It was energizing to see reps from many different industries, and interests come together with one mission at heart, improve access and lower costs to digital money and financial services for everyone.
@fredwilson “One of the powerful things about being in the venture capital business is that we can support projects that are necessary but unproven, unpopular, and/or misunderstood. Not everyone can do that and so it is even more important that we do.” https://twitter.com/...
Hoping to signal popularity amidst big defections like Visa, Libra says it has interest from 1500 partners and 180 eligible potential members https://techcrunch.com/...
The promise of projects like Libra is why I started writing about crypto. Like Janus, they both undermine and empower. They catalyze competition and remind bankers their power comes from the people they serve. Even if they never launch the impact remains. https://avc.com/...
“The group elected five people to serve on the board, including Facebook's David Marcus as well as representatives from PayU, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, blockchain company Xapo Holdings Limited and non-profit Kiva Microfunds.” https://www.reuters.com/...
The goals of Libra are extremely noble and important. But Facebook's network is an imperfect vessel for delivery of the product. Zuckerberg and teams privacy failures are the reason for the massive skepticism and regulatory scrutiny. https://avc.com/...
You may find the Libra Exodus LULZ, but it contains an important lesson for Bitcoin; don't try to get big companies to adopt first. Adoption must come from the users first. When billions are using Bitcoin, then companies can make the argument they're following the market. https:/…
Booking Holdings, which operates Kayak and Priceline, is the latest partner to withdraw from Facebook's Libra Association https://www.bloomberg.com/...