Libra could launch as early as January

The Facebook-led Libra Association is reportedly gearing up to launch its cryptocurrency at the start of 2021.

Three people involved in the project told the Financial Times that the initiative could be related as early as in January, albeit at a smaller scale than what was originally envisioned.

When Libra was first announced in June 2019, the Libra Association planned to? launch digital versions of several currencies as well as a “digital composite” of all its coins.

However, after intense scrutiny from lawmakers around the world, the association has seemingly decided to scale down its ambition and only launch a one-for-one dollar version.

Although, the people the Financial Times spoke with suggested that more version may be coming in the future.

The exact date of the launch of Libra is dependent on the approval of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The regulator received an application from the Geneva-based Libra Association for a payment system licence in May this year.

FINMA did not comment on when the process may be completed to the Financial Times.

Facebook first announced Libra in the summer of 2019 at the same time as it revealed a new subsidiary called Calibra, a digital wallet for Libra, which was renamed Novi in May this year.

At the time, Facebook estimated that the project would be launched in 2020. The Menlo Park company is not the only organization backing the project, but a one out of the now 27 member-strong Libra Association.

Copyright ? 2020 FinTech Global

Enjoying the stories?

Subscribe to our daily FinTech newsletter and get the latest industry news & research

Investors

The following investor(s) were tagged in this article.