Another one bites the dust. Wait, two. Okay, make that three.
Just kidding, we meant four.
Last week, PayPal said it would no longer partner with Facebook on the Libra cryptocurrency. Today, in quick succession, eBay, Stripe, Mastercard and Visa all confirmed they are bowing out as well.
In a statement, an eBay spokesperson said, “We highly respect the vision of the Libra Association; however, eBay has made the decision to not move forward as a founding member. At this time, we are focused on rolling out eBay’s managed payments experience for our customers.”
Payments company Stripe also pulled out, but left the door open to rejoining the Libra project, saying it would "follow its progress closely."
Mastercard, which was said to be reconsidering its involvement in the project, has reportedly followed suit. This comes just two days after two U.S. senators sent letters to Libra partners Stripe, MasterCard, and Visa asking them to use caution before moving forward. The letters suggested that the companies may not have been fully aware of the regulatory risks inherent in the project.
And, not to be left out, Visa wants out as well, according to report from Forbes. "Visa has decided not to join the Libra Association at this time. We will continue to evaluate and our ultimate decision will be determined by a number of factors, including the Association’s ability to fully satisfy all requisite regulatory expectations," a Visa spokesperson said.
Congressional scrutiny isn't going away. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on October 23.
Facebook announced Libra this June and pointed to a whole slew of partners set to run nodes on the Libra blockchain. Among the Libra Association's founding members was PayPal, which David Marcus left to join Facebook.
After PayPal bowed out, the Libra Association tweeted, "We recognize that change is hard, and that each organization that started this journey will have to make its own assessment of risks and rewards of being committed to seeing through the change that Libra promises." But it ended on an upbeat noted, pointing toward the first Libra Council meeting, to be held on Monday.
With four major partners out in the last week, all eyes are on who decides to actually show up at that meeting.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to include the withdrawal of Visa from the Libra Association.