LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.