Farfetch Limited (NYSE:FTCH), the leading global technology platform for
the luxury fashion industry, today announced that it has joined as a
Founding Member of the Libra Association and will work closely with
other Founding Member organizations in the lead-up to the public launch
of the initiative in the first half of 2020.
The Libra Association will be responsible for operating and developing
the Libra Blockchain, which will be secure, scalable, and reliable. It
will support a wide range of business uses as well as a digital
currency. Farfetch will actively participate in the ongoing technical,
architectural, and operational development of the Libra Association as
one of the Founder Members.
Blockchain technology has long been of interest to Farfetch, and the
company has been researching its potential applications for the luxury
industry. Farfetch believes that the Libra Blockchain will help to
enable frictionless e-commerce and will form an important part of the
company’s broader blockchain strategy that will develop over time.
Stephanie Phair, Chief Strategy Officer, Farfetch said: “Farfetch
is delighted and honored to join the Libra Association as a Founding
Member. We have been looking at blockchain technology to help solve a
range of fashion industry issues. We were delighted to be approached by
the Association for this initiative, which we believe will enable
frictionless e-commerce for hundreds of millions of people around the
world.”
Jose Neves, CEO and Co-Chair, Farfetch said: “We believe
blockchain will benefit the luxury industry by improving IP protection,
transparency in the product lifecycle and – as in the case of Libra –
enable global frictionless e-commerce.
As a Founding Member of the Libra Association, we will actively
participate in the technical development of the blockchain, whilst at
the same time being able to learn from our participation and accelerate
our other blockchain projects.”
The founding members of the Libra Association are: payments –
Mastercard, PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe, Visa;
technology and marketplaces – Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra,
Farfetch, Lyft, Mercado Pago, Spotify Technology S.A., Uber
Technologies, Inc.; telecommunications – Iliad, Vodafone Group;
blockchain – Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Inc., Xapo Holdings
Limited; venture capital – Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough
Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures; and
non-profit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions –
Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking.
Notes to editors
-
Farfetch Limited is the leading global technology platform for the
luxury fashion industry. Founded in 2007 by José Neves for the love of
fashion, and launched in 2008, Farfetch began as an e-commerce
marketplace for luxury boutiques around the world. Today the
Farfetch.com Marketplace connects customers in over 190 countries with
items from more than 50 countries and over 1,000 of the world’s best
brands, boutiques and department stores, delivering a truly unique
shopping experience and access to the most extensive selection of
luxury on a single platform. Through its business units, which also
include Store of The Future, Farfetch Black & White Solutions, Browns,
and Stadium Goods, Farfetch continues to invest in innovation and
develop key technologies, business solutions, and services for the
luxury fashion industry. For more information, please visit www.farfetch.com. -
Libra is a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that
can empower billions of people. Libra will be built on a secure,
scalable, and reliable blockchain. This blockchain will be open for
developers and businesses to build inclusive new financial service
products for people all around the world. The currency will be backed
by a reserve of real assets, providing low volatility, wide global
acceptance, and fungibility. This new ecosystem, set to launch in
2020, will be governed by the independent Libra Association, which
will be responsible for facilitating the development of the
open-source Libra Blockchain and managing the Libra Reserve. The
association is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Members of the
Libra Association will consist of geographically distributed and
diverse businesses, nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and
academic institutions. The initial group of organizations that will
work together on finalizing the association’s charter, and become
“Founding Members” upon its completion are: payments – Mastercard,
PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe, Visa; technology and
marketplaces – Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra, Farfetch,
Lyft, Mercado Pago, Spotify Technology S.A., Uber Technologies, Inc.;
telecommunications – Iliad, Vodafone Group; blockchain – Anchorage,
Bison Trails, Coinbase, Inc., Xapo Holdings Limited; venture capital –
Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive
Capital, Union Square Ventures; and nonprofit and multilateral
organizations, and academic institutions – Creative Destruction Lab,
Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190618005431/en/