Head of Facebook’s Libra Project, David Marcus said that instead of using the synthetic currency, they are open to using stablecoins pegged to national currencies.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
3 mins read
Social media giant Facebook has been facing severe regulatory troubles for launching its Libra cryptocurrency. Last week, even big giants like Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, who were earlier part of the Libra Association, announced their withdrawal from the project.
Facebook is now working out other ways to keep its Libra project alive. As reported by Reuters, Facebook proposed using fiat-pegged digital stablecoins for its project. It means that instead of directly pegging the Libra token to any national currency, the Libra will be tied to a federally accepted national currency-pegged stablecoin.
While speaking at a banking seminar, Libra Project’s chief David Marcus assured that his company’s main goal is to create a batter and efficient payment system. He added that Facebook is very much open to using alternative currency formats. Marcus said:
“We could do it differently. Instead of having a synthetic unit … we could have a series of stablecoins, a dollar stablecoin, a euro stablecoin, a sterling pound stable coin, etc. We could definitely approach this with having a multitude of stablecoins that represent national currencies in a tokenized digital form. That is one of the options that should be considered.”
Marcus’ statement comes just at a time when the U.S. FED official confirmed that the U.S. central bank is actively debating the possibility of having a digital dollar. The FED official said that in order to keep USD’s dominant position intact, in global trade and commerce, the U.S. will need to think of adopting new payment technologies to counter global competition.
But Marcus specified Facebook has yet not finalized whether the currency-pegged stablecoins are the new options for the Libra project. “What we care about is the mission and there are a number of ways to go about this,” he said.
But regardless of all the latest regulatory distress, Facebook continues to maintain its position of moving ahead with the Libra project. Just after some big giants announced the exit from the Libra Association, the Libra Association’s Chief Operating Officer and provisional Managing Director, Bertrand Perez said that they will have 100 members in the Association before the launch of Libra token.
Speaking to Reuters, Marcus said that his company is still aiming for a June 2020 launch for Libra. But he acknowledged that this realization will take place subjected to the regulatory hurdles around Libra. He said:
“We’ll see. That’s still the goal. We’ve always said that we wouldn’t go forward unless we have addressed all legitimate concerns and get proper regulatory approval. So it’s not entirely up to us”.
All eyes are set as Facebook CEO will testify in front of the U.S. Congress ahead this week for the Libra project.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
