(BlockBar) According to the second round of hearing towards Facebook, Libra openly challenges WeChat and Alipay in China. It is assumed that China will accelerate its pace of issuing national digital currency.
At the lastest hearing, David Markus, the head of Libra, acquiesced the fact that Libra would not compete with the sovereign currency but China’s Alipay and WeChat. As early as the publicity of the Libra white paper, there was a view that Libra would challenge WeChat and Alipay, relying on 2.7 billion users owned by Facebook to dominate the global payment market.
It is undeniable that Libra has something in common with WeChat and Alipay: they rely on the large Internet platform, with the help of the existing Internet and mobile communication means to provide users with more convenient and low-cost payment services. But Libra seems more ambitious. It is attached to a basket of currencies and aims to build a simple, borderless currency. Once successful, Libra will become a new global currency. For now, although Libra will not be issued until regulatory concerns are fully resolved, no sovereign country can ignore it. After all, it may have a huge impact on the traditional financial system of the country, and China is of no exception.
According to public data, the total number of Facebook users is about 2.7 billion, more than a third of the world’s population. In terms of user base, Alipay and WeChat cannot compete with it. However, based on China’s current financial and law system, Libra is hardly possible to compete with WeChat and Alipay. First, China could not use Facebook; second, China had strict regulation of digital currency.
In fact, as early as the Libra White Paper was just released, domestic researchers have expressed concerns about the development of China’s block chain and encrypted finance. Meng Yan, a researcher at the Institute of Digital Assets, pointed out, “If China is not able to participate actively in the process of digital economic revolution. Not only will it be completely passive in the new competition, but the advantages already gained in the field of Internet and financial science and technology may also be lost.
As for Libra’s challenge, the central government and senior officials have obviously taken precautions. It was the English edition of the Global Times, which belonged to the People’s Daily, that took the lead. On June 25, it clearly stated that “in the era of global digital currency competition, China cannot be absent”, and called on China to participate in this round of digital economic competition: “With the advent of the era of global digital economy competition, it is necessary for Chinese industries and regulatory agencies to have more dialogue on Digital currency. Otherwise, China may fall behind in the new financial structure.” It can be predicted that the emergence of Libra will speed up the introduction of central bank digital currency to a certain extent.
Weekend is the most representative female writer in the blockchain industry. She is known for her keen news capture ability and is good at English writing of blockchain news in the Chinese region.
