Facebook Libra cryptocurrency ready for debut

The Financial Times newspaper claims that Libra - a cryptocurrency prepared under the aegis Facebook - it should be ready for its debut in January 2021. It is also known that the assumptions of the project have changed. The token will not reflect the value of several traditional currencies, it will be based on the US dollar.

Recall: LibraCoin is to be a token that will allow cryptocurrencies to settle in everyday transactions for good. The project assumes the possibility of using it in Messenger, WhatsApp and a separately created application (tentatively called CaLibra). Ultimately, it will be possible to transfer from a smartphone to another (free) money transfer in LibraCoin.

It is commonly said that Libra is a Facebook project, but in fact there are many more huge companies behind it. The founding act was signed, among others, by representatives of: Facebook, Coinbase, Uber, PayU, Spotify, Vodafone, Xapo, Anchorage, Bison Trails, Andreessen Horowitz, Farfetch, Illiad, Ribbit Capital, Kiva, Lyft and Mercy Corps. A formal board of directors has also been established. This body currently has five members. They are: David Marcus - managing Calibra, a Facebook subsidiary responsible for the financial side of the project; Katie Haun - Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, Wences Cesares - Managing Xapo, Patric Ellis - Chief Legal Officer at PayU and Matthew Davie - Chief Strategy Officer at Kiva.

“Libra's mission is to create a simple global financial infrastructure for people around the world. The project drives blockchain technology, and its launch is planned for 2020. Being able to use mobile payments can have a significant positive impact on people's lives as you don't always need to carry cash (…). This is especially true for people who do not have access to traditional banks or financial services. There are currently around a billion people who do not have a bank account but do have a mobile phone. We are committed to making it easy for everyone to send and receive money just like you use our apps to instantly share messages and photos " - explains Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.

Libra is ready

After a brief confusion caused by the concerns of regulators, who were primarily interested in the fact that the token will be based on a basket of fiat currencies, the project has ceased to be supported by payment operators: Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. There were also rumors that from the beginning, these companies were there only to observe the progress of the emerging competition and learn about its action plan. It seems logical, but we will probably never know if it was so. 

It is known, however, that the project is practically ready. Libra, however, will not be based on a basket of currencies, but on one - the US dollar. The issue is also to be fully covered by reserves in the US dollar, on the same basis as stablecoin works Tether (USDT). The new token is to be available in January 2021.

The Financial Times claims that the debut is already buttoned up, but the only obstacle in launching it is the economic situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In January 2021, a vaccine or even a few Covid-19 vaccines will most likely be available, so the market mood should be much better. And that's when LibraCoin is to hit a wide audience. The advantage of the token will undoubtedly be a wide base of potential customers. Facebook is used by over 2,4 billion users a month, and as many as 1,59 billion of them use the website every day. In Europe, the monthly number of users reaches 385 million, in Asia there are over 1 billion, and in the USA and Canada a total of 244 million.