The pressure from the regulator on Facebook’s potential cryptocurrency project Libra has pushed the social media giant to alternate its plans. A recent report indicated that Facebook and its Libra partners are considering redesigning the acceptance of multiple currencies once the project is launched.
When announced in June 2019, Libra attracted a massive world’s attention. As Facebook is one of the most recognizable brands over the past decade, planning to create its cryptocurrency to serve as a “single global digital currency” made the headlines. Quickly after the initial excitement, though, world regulators started clamping down on Libra’s purpose.
The effects were almost instantaneous. Starting with 23 initial partners, several big names, including Uber, MasterCard, Visa, Spotify, and Vodafone, left the project.
Eventually, this led to doubts within Facebook itself. A company quarterly report from last year warned that Libra might be delayed or even not launched at all. It listed “scrutiny from governments” as the main reason.
The same scrutiny could be pressuring a significant change for the future project. By quoting people familiar with the matter, a Bloomberg report hinted that the social media giant is contemplating redesigning Libra’s core purpose.
Instead of being just a global digital currency, the Libra network would be able to accept multiple different coins. Those would also include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). According to the report, the Libra Association would re-introduce the project soon as an expansion on the initial idea, instead of completely replacing it.
Aside from the regulatory hurdles that Libra attracted, the announcement on Libra had another impact on the financial world. Shortly after Facebook, dozens of national banks decided to start working on the creation of their own digital currencies.
If the Libra Association indeed introduces a network to accept CBDCs, it could have a revolutionary impact on the global payment system, and it could make them a leader in this manner.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, Libra co-founder David Marcus implied that the new form could host multiple digital coins:
“I want to really make that distinction between the network and the assets that are running on top of the network, which I think could be issued by many different entities, whether it’s central banks or the private sector.”
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