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On June 18, Facebook unveiled details about the Libra, its new virtual currency slated for release next year.
Louis Roy, assurance partner and president of Catallaxy, was approached for comment by several media outlets. On the eve of the announcement, he told Radio-Canada that “the undertaking is particularly interesting due to its scope, given that Facebook has 2.4 billion users.”
Speaking to Kyk radio in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mr. Roy explained that “this digital currency has tremendous potential since there are more unbanked people in the world than banked people. The currency is available at very low cost thanks to blockchain technology and it enables users to carry out a wide range of transactions on their cell phone, without a bank account.”
Quoted in the Journal de Montréal, Mr. Roy added that “this is going to shake up the financial system. Facebook’s new currency has far-reaching implications and we can expect that, once it’s introduced next year, it will be here to stay—though it will almost certainly evolve over time.”
When interviewed for RDI économie and Le Téléjournal de Radio-Canada, Mr. Roy stated that the Libra project is unique in that “it’s the first cryptocurrency to be backed by major players from the financial sector, including Uber, Spotify, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.”
He also explained to iHeartRadio’s Énergie Québec that the value of this “stablecoin” is closely linked to that of traditional currencies, such as the US dollar, which makes it less risky for users. “The Libra aims to be a global currency. It will be interesting to see how it will contend with different regulations in different countries.” During the interview, he also went into detail about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, including the difference between the upcoming Libra and Bitcoin.