Facebook’s New Crypto Currency “Libra” Set To Launch In Limited Form Early Next Year

Libra, a new cryptocurrency created by Facebook and others, could launch as soon as January 2021 but in a very limited format.

According to CNBC, a report from the Financial Times claims the Libra Association, The Geneva-based group, which has 27 members including Facebook executives, was originally planning to launch digital versions of several different traditional currencies. But now, it is reportedly only planning to launch a single coin backed by the U.S. dollar.

The Libra Association said they would launch other currencies and a “digital composite” of all of its coins at a later date.

The scaling back of the cryptocurrency project, which was started by a group of Facebook executives, comes after global regulators warned that an influx of new libra coins could threaten monetary stability.

Last year, several heavyweights pulled out of the Libra project, like PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Mercado Pago, eBay, Stripe and Booking Holdings, and Vodafone, citing privacy concerns.

Facebook did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.