Tue 18 June 2019:
Facebook is set to launch a global cryptocurrency named Libra, the social media giant revealed on Tuesday.
The digital coin will come online in the first half of 2020 if regulators in Switzerland, where the new currency is to be based, give the go-ahead. Facebook has created a management tool it has named Calibra, which will offer digital wallets to save, send and spend Libras. It will be connected to the billion-plus users of the Messenger and WhatsApp platforms as the network expands beyond social networking into the world of international finance.
The name was inspired by Roman weight measurements, the astrological sign for justice and the French word for freedom, said David Marcus, a former PayPal executive who is heading up the project. “Freedom, justice and money, which is exactly what we’re trying to do here,” he said. The 28 partner companies in the project include household names such as Mastercard, Visa, Spotify, PayPal, eBay, Uber and Vodafone, as well as venture capital firms. In January 2018, Facebook banned advertisements selling bitcoin and other online currencies.
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