According to reports in the crypto press Thursday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance is talking to Facebook about getting involved in the social media giant’s upcoming Libra project.
Finance Magnates says it spoke to Binance at the FinTech Junction event in Israel on Thursday, with the exchange’s CSO, Gin Chao, saying that early discussions have taken place with Facebook over a possible future listing of the libra token.
Chao said that as libra will be on a private blockchain initially, it won’t need external liquidity. However, Facebook may ultimately desire a secondary market, he said, adding:
“Currencies benefit from a secondary market, so it would be in their best interest to want to be listed.”
In another report from industry blog CryptoPotato, which also spoke to Chao at the Tel Aviv event, he further suggested that Binance may support the Libra blockchain by acting as a permissioned node that validates transactions.
Facebook has said that it will eventually have 100 nodes and has already named firms like Visa, Uber, eBay and Lyft as having already committed to the role (at the princely sum of roughly $10 million apiece).
Chao said that Binance is “definitely considering” the option, although a final decision is yet to be made.
Speaking generally about the Libra project, which was unveiled in mid-June, he said:
“It’s a good thing, for sure. Any time a company with the weight, size, resources, and impact of Facebook gets involved, it validates both blockchain and [cryptocurrencies]. So whether or not Libra becomes incredibly successful, it’s already a good thing.”
Binance image via Shutterstock