IBM executives mention that the future of the industry could be in tokenization.
IBM, one of the world’s leading technology companies, issued a statement where it explains they are willing to collaborate with Libra, the cryptocurrency that will be launched by Facebook in the middle of 2020.
The announcement about this new project of Facebook generated a “wave of reactions” that mostly turned out to be negative. Moreover, during some months a strong tension was generated within the company, so the decision about launching or not the cryptocurrency was discussed.
However, IBM said it was willing to work “hand in hand” with the social media giant in order to develop its crypto project.
With the intention to strengthen the announcement, IBM blockchain Services General Manager, Jason Kelley decided to accompany the friendly atmosphere by mentioning that he considers the crypto industry as an innovative group that supports each other. “Blockchain is a sport for teams”, he said.
In this way, Kelley mentioned that they are prepared to approach the project. He also said they would serve as a “bridge” to involve clients that help to join more people to the initiative. “Our clients are ready to work with Facebook and we are ready to work with all of them to gather them”.
It is not a big surprise that IBM seeks to get more and more involved in the crypto world since during some time it decided to direct many of its projects to this area. One of the most prominent projects is the implementation of its own blockchain system, which provides greater transparency to supply chains and banks.
This news demonstrates the interest of IBM to get involved with new technologies, and although it was not mentioned at any time that the company would be looking to partner with Libra, it is a clear clue that some movements could be managed so that this can be a reality.
Something clear is that Kelley believes that the incorporation of Facebook into the crypto market is a positive step for the industry that would bring a new level of confidence to investors around the world.
Jason Kelley stressed that IBM’s greatest interest in the industry is the “tokenization” process, which allows digitizing any possible asset in order to facilitate marketing using blockchain technology as a medium.
He explained: “We talk about Libra and people say it’s just another cryptocurrency (…) put aside cryptography and talk about tokenization, because that’s what we’re talking about”.
A possible alliance between these giants could boost the reach of the services that Libra would offer once the project enters the global market. However, Facebook has not yet revealed all the details about the characteristics of Libra, imposing many doubts and questions about it.
IBM’s interest in Libra may be a warning about the directions the company will take in the future. In this way, the company keeps its interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as new and important tools for the industry.
By María Rodríguez
