Menlo Park, California-based social media giant Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) appears to be stepping away from the controversial Libra cryptocurrency project that it introduced in June 2019.
Facebook’s management says it will be creating several separate or independent virtual tokens, with each pegged or backed by different national currencies including the US dollar and euros. This, according to a recent report from The Information, which cited several sources familiar with the project.
The new digital tokens will be available via the Calibra digital wallet, which was being designed to support the Libra stablecoin and payment system. Users will be able to perform transactions and pay for goods and services with these digital tokens via the Calibra online wallet.
The Information reported that Facebook is planning to launch the Calibra wallet and the virtual currencies at about the same time, however, the wallet release had been delayed from June to October.
The Calibra wallet might be offered via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and at first, it could be limited to certain jurisdictions, based on the currencies it can support.
The Libra Association says it will move forward with developing the Libra token, which will be pegged to a basket of major fiat currencies.
Last month, Shopify confirmed that it had joined the Libra Association, the organization in charge of developing the Facebook-led, non-sovereign digital currency. Shopify seems to have ignored the trend where several members had left the consortium as it has become more apparent that the policy trend does not bode well for the crypto.
Founding members of Libra include major companies such as Uber, Coinbase, Spotify, certain VCs and others. Prominent names that have exited the group include MasterCard, eBay, Visa and Stripe.
