Facebook has been taking a keen interest in Cryptocurrency off late. After news of the social media giant launching its own crypto coin, Facebook is now working with the South American web marketplace Mercado Libre to execute the social media network’s Libra cryptocurrency project. Gathering support from a number of firms, which include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Uber, Facebook’s Libra platform will be unveiled later this week.
It must be mentioned here that an internal source confirmed that cryptocurrency would be integrated into the e-commerce platform as a mode of payment. It was also confirmed that the e-commerce company would be operating as a node in Facebook’s forthcoming blockchain network.
The entire venture is said to be regulated by a consortium of organizations such as the Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, Coinbase, and Mercy Corps. They will together be called the Libra Association.
The project and the association, both are likely to be unveiled by all the partners in Geneva with the agenda of a “simple global currency and financial infrastructure” which could be accessible to people across the world. The launch will also mark the launch of a Testnet, meant for collecting feedback on the project and update on the future direction.
Why Libra?
Embedded on the Libra blockchain, Libra will be secure, stable, and reliable. It will be backed by the Libra Reserve, which has earned expertise in reserving real assets. Furthermore, this will bring in low inflation, fungibility, stability, and will be accepted by the mainstream population.
The Libra Blockchain is likely to be open sourced under Apache 2.0 License as on the day of the announcement, which has been decided to be June 18.
Aim of the Libra
According to Facebook, this platform would be of great service to around 1.7 billion people across the world who are out of the purview of financial institutions. Criticizing the other cryptocurrency organization for not taking the plight of these individuals under consideration, Facebook said that it’s collaborative, compliant, and regulated approach would make it a part of the mainstream approach pretty quickly. In fact, this approach will also help it overcome hurdles faced by other cryptocurrencies.
Unlike other crypto agencies, Facebook does not want to dismantle the traditional financial institutions. It rather believes that being adopted by the mainstream can only make the cryptocurrency sustainable, secure, and trusted.
Meanwhile, the news is rife that Facebook and the Libra Association are likely to launch the Libra Blockchain and a supportive environment by 2020.