Facebook Plans to Launch Libra in January 2021
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — Nov 28, 2020
The long awaited Facebook-led cryptocurrency Libra might finally see the light of day, but not exactly as it was first proposed.
According to CNBC, a report from the Financial Times claims the Libra Association, The Geneva-based group, which has 27 members including Facebook executives, was originally planning to launch digital versions of several different traditional currencies.
The initial plan to create a stablecoin based on an aggregate value of a basket of currencies still exists but in a slightly modified form. The composite coin will come later as well. The initial version of the currency anxious governments because of its global operation and linked to Mark Zuckerberg's company, which could "disturb financial stability", according to Reuters.
Facebook will most likely launch its own Libra wallet at the same time.
Facebook's stablecoin, Libra might get off the ground as early as January 2021, albeit in a more limited format than the original multi-currency basket envisioned, according to CoinDesk.
Just three months after the announcement, the European Central Bank already warned that Libra could be a threat to the European Union's monetary policy, as well as to the Euro itself. That's why the Libra Association changed course and started working on several single-currency stablecoins.
This followed concerns from regulators over this plan for a "digital composite" of all its coins; thus, the association will initially be launching a single coin backed by the dollar. Support for other major fiat currencies may be announced at a later date, probably, as the regulators' tension eases up.
Libra had been in trouble for its close association with the social media network, which has faced multiple scandals.
Libra Association members believed that the appointment of Stuart Levey as the first CEO and HSBC legal chief contributed to the recent decisions towards the project. Dollar-pegged stablecoins have been around for a while, and it's harder for regulators to dismiss them as risky, as they did with Libra's original plan.
