According to CoinDesk, retail giant Wal-Mart recently filed a patent for a digital cryptocurrency that shares many similarities with Facebook’s Libra released in June.
In the patent application file, Wal-Mart proposed a digital cryptocurrency, which is called ‘tied to a regular currency’, where ‘regular currency’ is ‘stablecoin’. Facebook also said that its Libra digital cryptocurrency will be a token linked to a basket of legal and government bonds.
In addition, Wal-Mart said that the proposed digital currency may help provide financing services for those who cannot access banking services, which is one of Facebook’s main claims to Libra. This is very attractive because many people do not have a bank account number. Wal-Mart said that for low-income families, the cost of banking is slightly higher. Using digital cryptocurrencies will provide them with a new alternative.
Facebook expects to create a system that allows its social media platform to pay with Libra, allowing advertisers to earn Libra and pay advertising fees to Facebook via Libra. Similarly, Wal-Mart also said that its digital currency has identical functions.
But a significant difference between the two is that users of ‘Walmart Coin’ can even ‘earn interest’. Wal-Mart said that its digital currency can store user purchase records in the blockchain and then apply the relevant savings to subsequent purchases.
It should be pointed out that since the release of Libra by Facebook, it has caused great concern from many central banks and regulatory authorities, and has expressed a strong review of Libra. The same is expected to happen with Walmart Coin.