• Just a week before, PayPal quit the Libra network and now first eBay, then Stripe and Mastercard all abandoned Facebook’s cryptocurrency project.

“We highly respect the vision of the Libra Association; however, eBay has made the decision to not move forward as a founding member,”

a company spokesperson said in a statement. The company is currently focused on its

“managed payments experience for our customers.”

In a separate statement, Stripe said it would consider rejoining in the future.

“Libra has this potential. We will follow its progress closely and remain open to working with the Libra Association at a later stage,”

a spokesperson said.

Soon, the world’s biggest credit card processors Visa and Mastercard followed.

Visa said it has decided not to join the association this time but will “continue to evaluate” and its ultimate decision will be determined on several factors,

“including the Association's ability to fully satisfy all requisite regulatory expectations.”

I would caution against reading the fate of Libra into this update. Of course, it’s not great news in the short term, but in a way it’s liberating. Stay tuned for more very soon. Change of this magnitude is hard. You know you’re on to something when so much pressure builds up.

— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) October 11, 2019

Meanwhile, Libra is looking forward to the “inaugural Libra Association council meeting in just three days and announcing the initial members of the Libra Association.”

Earlier this week, we also came to know that CEO Mark Zuckerburg is going to testify in front of Congress later this month.

Visa and MasterCard just withdrew from the Libra Association.

The political pressure is too hard for corporations to deal with.

Bitcoin’s decentralized, leaderless model is the only way a non-sovereign, global digital currency can be successful.

— Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) October 11, 2019

In response to this news, Nick Szabo took to Twitter to advise David Marcus, co-creator of Libra who is leading Calibra,

“You might want to ask yourself why the pressure has been so intense. And read some history that Bitcoin pioneers were aware of, for example the failure of e-gold. Your failure to learn from history has caused you to at great cost recapitulate the failures of the past.”

Marcus said he already has a lot of appreciation for the leading cryptocurrency before starting on this journey which has now only grown.

However, with the latest departures, Libra seems to be in trouble as the loss of the strong network of financial partners would affect the cryptocurrency’s global reach and further its acceptance as a form of payment.

But Libra Association remains undeterred with company’s head of communication Dante Disparte saying,

“We are focused on moving forward and continuing to build a strong association of some of the world’s leading enterprises, social impact organizations and other stakeholders to achieve a safe, transparent, and consumer-friendly implementation of a global payment system that breaks down financial barriers for billions of people.”