Booking.com Latest Company to Pull Out of Facebook’s Libra Association

The excitement surrounding the launch of Facebook Libra’s alliance on Monday was dampened by the news of Booking.com’s abrupt exit from the Libra Association, bringing down the number of original backers of the social networking giant’s cryptocurrency from 28 to just 21. On Monday, Booking.com confirmed its departure from the initiative ahead of the official launch which was to take place in Geneva.

Facebook’s ambitious plans to launch its own digital currency have been mired in controversy ever since announcement over rising concerns of data and privacy risks among regulatory authorities. In the past week alone, seven companies have exited Calibra, the association that would have had an oversight into Libra.

Fears of increased regulatory scrutiny were highlighted as the main driver behind the exit of companies like PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, eBay and now, Booking.com. Other companies like Uber, Lyft, Coinbase, Spotify and some development charities still remain a part of Facebook Libra’s governing body.

Calibra or the Libra Association was formed with the intention of governing the digital currency Libra independent of Facebook to prevent any potential fallout of regulatory and political scrutiny being experienced by Facebook. Facebook plans to launch Libra sometime in 2020 as a digital coin to enable payments by users across Facebook and WhatsApp.