While Facebook-backed Libra continues to face hurdles as it attempts to introduce a new global payment system and financial infrastructure, a new report from Binance Research says the crypto project could be a game changer for the payments industry just as SpaceX has transformed the space travel industry.
In June of 2019, Facebook announced plans to launch Libra, a digital currency that will be overseen by the Libra Association, a Swiss-based consortium of independent members. The platform is designed to enable millions of people around the world to make financial transactions online, but the project is stymied by regulatory issues.
The Binance report, dated April 22, cites challenges endured by Elon Musk’s spaceflight company that are reminiscent of the pushback against Libra’s. Musk also saw high-entry barriers during his initial foray into an industry dominated by public market players, but SpaceX offered innovative and cost-saving technologies that eventually transformed space travel.
Libra’s proposed global system promises to change the payment industry in a similar manner by addressing the limitations of central banks.
According to the report,
“It is important to note that there are very few payment systems, and most of them are operated by a central bank and of only regional scope. Libra could thus do to payment systems, what SpaceX did to the space industry … shake the foundations of a well-established sector with high entry barriers. The mere advantage of issuing widely-available programmable money would already initiate manifold efficiency gains.”
A Binance Research representative tells Cointelegraph that while new online money transfer services such as Transferwise offer some payment innovations, they come short of what Libra can offer.
“If Libra was to launch it would be Transferwise on steroids that caters to a large retail and business audience and could thus start a new wave of innovation and fundamentally change the current payments landscape.”
The report adds that Libra can have an impact on financial inclusion if it opens access to third parties and adopts a user-friendly interface.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/sdecoret