Facebooks Libra Network Could Support Tokens Pegged to Fiat Currencies

The Libra network, which is set to be integrated into Facebook’s social applications for its billions of users, is reportedly considering starting to support tokens pegged to government-issued fiat currencies like the euro and the U.S. dollar.

According to a Bloomberg report citing three people familiar with the matter, Facebook and the Libra association are rethinking their initial plan of launching a cryptocurrency backed by various stable assets – including short-term U.S. Treasuries, USD, EUR, and JPY – to instead create a payments network that would support these fiat-pegged tokens.

Since Facebook announced the Libra cryptocurrency last year various central banks throughout the world, including the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, have said they are looking into issuing their own digital currencies. The revamped Libra network would support these digital currencies, the unnamed sources said.

They added, however, the “dream of a single global coin isn’t dead” and that the new plan could “expand, not pull back from, the original vision,” suggesting that the Libra Association could be looking to build the Libra network to bolster these central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) rather than to compete with then.

Responding to reports suggesting Facebook could drop the Libra cryptocurrency to just focus on a payments network, the social media giant responded it remains “fully committed to the project.” Dante Disparte, head of policy and communications for the Libra Association, said in a statement:

The Libra Association has not altered its goal of building a regulatory compliant global payment network, and the basic design principles that support that goal have not been changed.

The development comes shortly after two new members – e-commerce giant Shopify and crypto trading platform Tagomi – joined the Libra Association. The Libra cryptocurrency’s launch was planned for later this year. Jennifer Campbell, the founder of Tagomi, reportedly noted the technology behind it is already being tested.

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