IBM would be ready to work with Facebook on blockchain projects like the stablecoin Libra. That’s what Jason Kelley, general manager of blockchain services at IBM, said:
“Blockchain is a team sport. Our clients are ready to work with (Facebook) and we’re ready to work with all of them to bring it together.”
Kelley also revealed that the company is trying to foster collaboration across industries because blockchain technology requires it. In addition, Kelley wanted to distinguish between cryptocurrencies on the one hand and tokenisation on the other, i.e. existing assets to be issued and managed on digital and distributed ledgers.
With regard to the Facebook project, Kelley says that it brings more legitimacy in the blockchain sector, and being said by an IBM manager this statement has a certain relevance. The company has been involved in this sector for some time now, one example is being a member of the HyperLedger consortium.
However, Kelley has not revealed whether IBM is interested in joining the Libra association.
“We talk about libra and people say it’s just another crypto. Set crypto aside and talk about tokenization, because that’s what we’re talking about”.
The focus of IBM, therefore, would not be on real cryptocurrencies, the decentralised ones, but in particular on the tokenisation of existing assets. In fact, Libra would fall into this category because it is a token whose value is based on a reserve of fiat coins that will be accumulated, stored and tokenised to make them easier, faster and cheaper to exchange.
IBM proves once again that it has understood well the nature of these technologies, as cryptocurrencies and tokens are not the same thing and stablecoins based on fiat currencies are nothing more than the tokenisation of the same fiat currencies, provided that they are correctly designed and managed.
So it’s no surprise that IBM opened its doors to the project launched by Facebook, which outside the industry continues to cause a lot of confusion. Beyond the technical, regulatory, and in particular verification and monitoring issues, Libra presents not only problems but also opportunities: these issues probably do not scare IBM so much, since it is interested in the opportunities.
