Libra Hasn't Abandoned Multi-Currency Stablecoin: Policy Director

A Libra executive has confirmed the project has not lost sight of its original ambition to launch a multi-currency stablecoin.

• Speaking at the Global Digital Finance virtual summit Wednesday, Libra Director of Policy Julien Le Goc said the Facebook-backed entity was still looking at its original plan: "We’ve not abandoned the multi-currency stablecoin, drawing its DNA from the [International Monetary Fund's] special drawing fund, which remains an important design feature."
• Libra's original vision in 2019 had been to release one multi-currency stablecoin backed by a basket of up to 30 fiat currencies.
• This was hit with resistance from government officials who were concerned about a private entity challenging their monetary sovereignty.
• In an updated white paper earlier this year, Libra appeared to scale back its ambitions and said it would first create a series of single-currency stablecoins instead.
• A multi-currency asset was still on the cards, the white paper read, but it would be backed by single-asset stablecoins, with the weighting reviewed and changed over time.
• Le Goc confirmed Libra still wants to become a borderless payment method for the world's unbanked.
• He said the Swiss-based association was also creating a new regulatory compliance framework in an "ongoing dialogue" with central bankers.
• He added that Libra was also exploring ways it could make its governance structure closer to a public-private partnership with national governments.

See also: Libra Is Ready for the Digital Money ‘Space Race’: Dante Disparte