Facebook will support new tokens pegged to individual government-issued currencies - report

Facebook • March 3, 2020, 5:35PM EST
UPDATED: March 3, 2020, 8:47PM EST
The Block

Update: The Information has issued an update, stating that Facebook will support both Libra and the new digital government currencies, with emphasis on the new tokens. 

Facebook is backing away from Libra, the cryptocurrency it proposed last summer, for the time being. 

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Instead, the social media giant will develop several separate digital tokens, each pegged to a different government-issued currency such as dollars and euros, The Information reported on March 3, citing three persons familiar with the matter. These new tokens will be available through Facebook's digital wallet Calibra, which was originally designed to support the Libra token, and users can make transactions and purchases with these tokens using the Calibra wallet. 

According to The Information, Facebook is looking to roll out the wallet and the digital currencies around the same time, although the wallet launch was pushed back from June to October. The wallet, which the company hopes to make available on WhatsApp and Messenger, may be initially restricted to certain countries based on the local currencies it supports. 

Separately, the Libra Association will forge ahead with the Libra token, pegged to a basket of government-issued currencies. 

About Author

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.