Crypto Exchange: Taiwan to Become Libra’s Chinese-language Capital

Tim Alper
Last updated: | 2 min read

A Taiwanese cryptocurrency exchange wants to join Facebook’s Libra Association – and believes that Taiwan will become Libra’s de facto center of gravity in Chinese-speaking countries.

Formosa Boulevard, a station of Kaohsiung MRT located in Sinsing District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Source: iStock/bee32

Per a report from the Taipei Times, Taipei-based exchange MaiCoin is hoping to be unveiled as a new association member by the year’s end. The exchange says it wants to operate a node on the Libra blockchain platform.

The news outlet quotes MaiCoin CEO Alex Liu as saying that even though companies like Binance (now headquartered in Malta, but originally based in Mainland China) are already vying for association membership, Taiwan would be a more logical location for a Libra node.

Liu noted that Facebook remains blocked in Mainland China, but is accessible in Taiwan, meaning that “Taiwanese firms have a better chance of being trusted” by Facebook.

Liu also opined that “Taiwanese exchanges are more likely to take the lead in Chinese-speaking regions” than companies with links to the mainland, and suggested that “money would not be a key factor for the Libra Association when choosing members.”

The CEO also claimed that Facebook said it was “confident of building a local user base of more than 20 million people.”

The company would possibly need to obtain regulatory approval from the country’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) should it wish to offer Libra-Taiwanese dollar pairings.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Winkelvoss twins, co-founders of the New York-based Gemini exchange, hinted that they may be prepared to put a long-running feud with Facebook behind them and join the Libra Association, which now has 28 members.

In an interview with CNN, the twins claimed they have “been in talks with Facebook about joining” the association.

Even if it does not join, the Gemini exchange could be set to work with the social network in some capacity.

CNN said that the Winklevoss twins are “waiting to learn more about the project before deciding whether to join the association or to list Libra on the Gemini exchange, which they said is another possibility.”

According to Tyler Winklevoss, “Facebook was a dispute, but it didn’t really define who we were as people.”

After going to Harvard University with Mark Zuckerberg, now Facebook CEO, the Winklevoss sued him for stealing their idea for a social network. The twins eventually won a USD 65 million settlement in cash and Facebook shares.

According to the Libra whitepaper, they hope to have approximately 100 members of the Libra Association by the target launch in the first half of 2020. Also, in order to join the Association companies are obliged to pay at least USD 10 million, which also gives a right to become one of validator nodes that “have the ultimate power” in making decisions about the project. However, in July, Facebook confirmed that until now all investments in Libra were made by Facebook only.

Two companies that joined the Libra Association told Cryptonews.com that Libra is a great opportunity “for the pioneers of tomorrow.”