Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      World Bank set to back South Africa’s big energy grid roll-out

      20 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Sita hits back at critics, promises faster, automated procurement

      20 June 2025

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Cryptocurrencies » Naspers committed to libra despite global controversy

    Naspers committed to libra despite global controversy

    By Duncan McLeod9 October 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk

    Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk said on Wednesday that the South African consumer Internet group remains a committed member of the Libra Association, the organisation working to develop the libra cryptocurrency.

    Responding to a question from TechCentral at a media briefing in Johannesburg, Van Dijk said: “We are still committed to the project. What attracted us to it is still valid.”

    Naspers subsidiary PayU is one of about 30 firms that signed up as initial members of the Libra Association, a group of companies that will have an equal say in how the cryptocurrency is managed.

    The philosophy behind it is very positive. What I also thought was attractive is that it’s an open platform; anyone can come in

    However, the project has run into serious headwinds, with politicians and regulators in both the US and Europe cautioning against libra, warning it could set up a competitor to nation states’ fiat currencies.

    Meanwhile, PayPal said last week that it has left the Libra Association and reports emerged this week that US senators are putting pressure on Mastercard, Visa and Square to back out of it, too.

    Naspers and PayU have no intention of following PayPal’s lead, Van Dijk said. “PayU enables people in markets where credit cards are not present to participate in the online economy. Libra is focused on people who have limited options to pay,” Van Dijk said. “In Southeast Asia and Africa, transferring money is one of the most expensive things to do (and) libra can play a big role in empowering people.”

    ‘Really big regulatory issues’

    “The philosophy behind it is very positive,” he added. “What I also thought was attractive is that it’s an open platform; anyone can come in. And many significant companies are behind it. But the reality is there are some really big regulatory issues — they need to be resolved. There are smart people working on it … but it will take some time.”

    Van Dijk said regulation in “many areas”, including the cryptocurrency space, is “overdue”, but added that it is incumbent on consumer Internet companies, including Naspers, to behave in a responsible way and “to do well by their customers”. Companies “should take responsibility before regulators come in”.

    In an interview with TechCentral in June, Van Dijk said he believed cryptocurrencies could have a huge and positive impact on societies by allowing for frictionless and costless transfer of value between people, something that didn’t exist in the world of fiat currencies.

    He said the group, through PayU, was “excited” about working with Facebook and other partners in developing libra.

    PayU and the other companies reportedly stumped up US$10-million each to be founder members of the Libra Association and to help direct the development of the cryptocurrency.

    “It’s obviously early days … but the ambition that Facebook has with libra is exciting,” Van Dijk said at the time about PayU’s investment in the project. “It’s an empowering idea where you basically create a frictionless, costless way for people to transfer value to each other, so I think that’s exciting.  — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media



    Bob van Dijk Facebook Libra Naspers PayU top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleTwo mammoth power plants are sinking Eskom and South Africa
    Next Article Why PriceCheck should be your go-to this Black Friday

    Related Posts

    Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

    4 June 2025

    Amazon turns up the heat on Takealot

    3 June 2025

    Top executive steps down at Prosus

    3 June 2025
    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.