Facebook ‘rethinks’ Libra cryptocurrentcy plans: Offering more inclusive wallet of dollars and euros

Mar 4, 2020 | E-commerce and E-retailing, Marketing transformation, Regulation

Facebook 'rethinks' Libra cryptocurrentcy plans: Offering more inclusive wallet of dollars and euros
Facebook is reportedly rethinking its plans for its own digital currency, called Libra, after resistance from regulators and losing a number of big name partners.

The social media giant is now considering a system with digital versions of established currencies, including the dollar and the Euro.

The Libra Association, which Facebook founded to create the currency, will continue its work.

When the social media giant introduced Libra last year, it did so claiming the cryptocurrency would be a simple global currency with the power to transform the global economy.

Regulators quickly took notice, and found the company had to offer more questions than answers as to what the digital currency would be.
Though Libra is still going forward, Facebook will now offer government-issued currencies like dollars and euros to support its own token. The move appears to be a way to appease reluctant regulators and gain additional support for the plan, still scheduled for a Q4 rollout.

According to a report issued by Bloomberg, both crypto and stated-issued currencies will be available on the company’s digital wallet, Calibra.

By redesigning the digital wallet and scaling back the features of the cryptocurrency, Facebook is hoping to release both Calibra and Libra at the same time, tentatively in October. Calibra will allow users to send and receive money, now in fiat currency (whose value is backed by the government that issued it), and make purchases.

Almost two billion people around the world use Facebook. Expanding the basket by including central bank currencies makes it possible for anyone to use Calibra as a more traditional payment system.

Any user with Messenger or WhatsApp installed on their mobile device could send funds across the globe with the tap of a button.

Facebook unveiled Libra seemingly as a way to bypass the global financial system entirely. While the plan was ambitious, it left lawmakers and regulators questioning the risks of introducing the cryptocurrency to the market with so many unanswered questions.