Facebook's Libra: Potential January Launch Date

A recent report from the Financial Times suggests that the cryptocurrency project Libra, supported by Facebook, may become available as early as January. Notably, the Libra Association, the organization established by Facebook for this initiative, may further adjust its initial goals.

Upon its initial announcement, the Libra cryptocurrency was envisioned as a novel digital currency linked to a collection of traditional currencies and financial assets. The original concept involved basing the cryptocurrency not on a single national currency, but rather on a combination of several different currencies.

This initial plan raised concerns among numerous central banks and regulatory bodies. Consequently, the Libra Association modified its strategy and began focusing on the development of several stablecoins each tied to a single currency.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value in relation to a specific fiat currency. As an example, a stablecoin backed by the US dollar would consistently be valued at one dollar per unit. Libra identified the US dollar, Euro, British pound, and Singapore dollar as potential base currencies for its various stablecoin offerings.

The Financial Times reports that the Libra Association is now preparing to launch a single stablecoin backed solely by the US dollar. This will position it as a direct competitor to existing stablecoins like USDC, PAX, and Tether (USDT). While the Association still intends to introduce additional currency-backed stablecoins, their release will be postponed to a future date.

Facebook is anticipated to simultaneously launch its own digital wallet for Libra. The Facebook subsidiary initially known as Calibra was renamed Novi in May.

Beyond a dedicated application for sending and receiving Libra tokens, users will also be able to access and manage their Novi accounts directly within Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook anticipates that users will primarily utilize Novi for sending money to others and for person-to-person transactions.

It remains uncertain if other organizations participating in the Libra Association will also introduce their own services based on Libra at the same time. Current members of the Association include companies such as Farfetch, Lyft, Shopify, Spotify, and Uber.