Celo Reveals 50-Member Alliance with Key Libra Participants

Multiple members of the Libra Association are now backing Celo, a rival project of Facebook's proposed digital currency.

Reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, 50 companies have joined the Celo Alliance for Prosperity, which includes names like Anchorage, Bison Trails Co., Coinbase Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Mercy Corps, all of which are participants in supporting Libra.

Other big names in the alliance include Carbon, GiveDirectly, Grameen Foundation, Maple, and Polychain.

The Celo Foundation is a non-profit and is developing a stablecoin and will also allow developers to build decentralized applications on its proprietary Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term.

The digital currency of the foundation - Celo Dollar - will be pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by a reserve of other Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term. Unlike other digital currencies, this can be transferred only by knowing the mobile numbers of the users.

Founded in 2017, the project raised $36.4 million in total, per Crunchbase. Andreessen Horowitz's a16z Crypto also backed the project by buying $15 million worth Celo Gold tokens in its Series A round.

The open-source platform is still in the testing phase but is aiming to hit the market with its mainnet in April.

No access to Facebook's 2.5 billion user base

The company will also launch its token in the United States; however, the primary target of it is to capture the markets in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

When Celo is gearing up with its stablecoin project, Facebook's crypto initiative is facing regulatory hurdles that might push the Libra Association's aim to launch its digital currency in mid-2020.

The Libra Association has also shed the support of some of its key members like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Vodafone, but recently added two additional members - Shopify and Tagomi.

"We have met with governments around the globe as well as central banks, we are continually engaging with governments in the many countries which we hope to serve," Chuck Kimble, head of the Alliance for Prosperity, told Bloomberg.