Walmart’s Crypto Should Gain Regulatory Approval Unlike Facebook’s Libra Says Cowen Policy Analyst

Bloomberg reports that there is a good chance that Walmart's crypto project will likely face lesser political resistance than Facebook’s Libra.

Across the globe, most countries have Libra in scrutiny. In the US, just two days after testifying before the House and Senate, the US Congress made it clear that they have no trust in the project.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown noted:

“It takes a breathtaking amount of arrogance to look at that track record and think, you know what we really ought to do next? Let’s run our own bank and our own for-profit version of the Federal Reserve for the world.”

The “Walmart Coin” like Libra will be a stablecoin with its value pegged to that of the U.S. dollar.

It appears to be composed as a method of financial incorporation for consumers who are sidelined from the banking system, or who have opted out by choice. The application of the coin says:

“The cost of having little money is high because of frequent short-term borrowing, accumulated interest on short-term borrowing that becomes long-term, high bank fees proportional to wealth, high credit card fees, and high payday loan interests, all of which can take money away that could be available — and would be used — to buy necessities.”

The main distinction between the two projects is that Walmart is building a closed-loop blockchain-based system, meant for use only within Walmart. This is the chief reason why Walmart Coin is not expected to attract regulatory scrutiny.

Jaret Seiberg, a senior policy analyst at Cowen said that the coin doesn’t have the same global intentions as that of Facebook. He added that Walmart would not differ from a rechargeable gift card. Additionally, there is no timeline for the launch of the coin.