Facebook Plans to Launch Cryptocurrency “Libra” On June 18

Social media giant Facebook will launch its cryptocurrency and its white paper on June 18, 2019. The white paper will explain the basics of the digital currency.

Major stakeholders like investors were informed about the launch date while the briefing on Facebook’s crypto project. The news about Facebook working on a digital currency took the internet by storm after it hired former PayPal executive David Marcus, who was roped in to explore the blockchain and crypto realms for the company. Since then, reports about the development have time and again surfaced.

Though the date wasn’t officially announced, Laura McCracken, Facebook’s Head of Financial Services & Payment Partnerships for Northern Europe informed during an interview in Germany that the company would launch the digital currency, a stablecoin, on 18th June. He also stated that the stablecoin would be backed by multiple fiat currencies, rather than only pegging it to the US Dollar. Given the heavily diverse user base, both geographically and socially, pegging the token to multiple currencies is an apt move to avoid fluctuations and instabilities.

Though the white paper and the token would launch on June 18, the cryptocurrency may not be up for public sale until early 2020. Nonetheless, the excitement around Facebook’s digital coin, which is focused on cross-border payments, refuses to die. When launched, it is expected to be a ground-breaking breakthrough in terms of mass adoption. The platform has a user base of over a humongous 2 billion users and a presence in over 200 countries.

An earlier report suggested that Facebook will launch the token this month, and will be focusing intensively on developing countries, as they have a growing market for global payments. Moreover, the company is also expected to shift the control over the digital token to a third party, who could be an outside backer.