(Bloomberg) — The head of Facebook Inc.’s Libra project said that it could use cryptocurrencies based on national currencies like the dollar, rather than the synthetic one it initially proposed, Reuters reported.
David Marcus, who oversees the Libra initiative for Facebook, told a banking seminar hosted by the Group of 30 in Washington that Facebook is open to looking at alternative approaches for the currency token it uses.
“We could do it differently,” he said. “Instead of having a synthetic unit…we could have a series of stablecoins: a dollar stablecoin, a euro stablecoin, a sterling pound stablecoin, etc.”
Marcus said the currency-pegged stablecoins aren’t Libra’s preferred option. He said the project is still aiming for a June 2020 launch.
“We’ve always said that we wouldn’t go forward unless we have addressed all legitimate concerns and get proper regulatory approval,” Marcus told Reuters. “So it’s not entirely up to us.”
Facebook has faced growing skepticism about its digital currency project. Last week Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., called it “a neat idea that’ll never happen.”
More: Libra Is ‘Neat Idea That’ll Never Happen,’ Dimon Says
To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at [email protected], Matthew G. Miller, Ros Krasny
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