Here is the list of the most significant news on Libra to date

Facebook’s Libra currency: quick facts. Source: libra.org

Today, on June 18, Facebook has revealed the details of its new digital currency called Libra, which reportedly will give people the ability to make purchases or send money with almost no fees. According to Facebook’s vision, to buy or cash out Libra holders will use online or physical exchange points, e.g. grocery stores.

We’ve decided to collect the most significant facts on new currency to keep you updated:

1. Today Facebook released a white paper explaining Libra,?a new digital currency, represented by?a Unicode character ? and powered by blockchain technology, and its testnet.
2. The public launch of the digital currency is planned for the first half of 2020.
3. Facebook formed a?subsidiary called Calibra to operate?the?Libra blockchain network.
   
4. The first product Calibra will introduce is a digital wallet for Libra. The wallet will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app. Facebook expects it to launch in 2020. Users will be able to?save, send and spend?Libra?with a smartphone, ‘as easily and instantly as sending a text message and at low to no cost’.
5. To buy Libra, a user will need to?cash in a local currency. After that, they will be able to spend Libra like dollars without big transaction fees or their real name attached or to cash out when they want to.
6. According to the Libra whitepaper, there’s always 100% of the value of the Libra in circulation collateralized with real-world assets in the Libra Reserve. It never runs fractional.
7. Facebook says?Calibra will not share account information or financial data with Facebook or any third party without customer consent. The social media giant also claims?Calibra will have strong protections in place to keep users’ money and information safe.
8. Facebook won’t fully control Libra. All of the founding members, who’ve invested at least $10 million, will have a single vote in its governance. The 28 founding members of the association and their industries include:
   Payments: Mastercard, PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe, Visa;
   Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra, Farfetch, Lyft, Mercado Pago, Spotify AB, Uber Technologies, Inc.;
   Telecommunications: Iliad, Vodafone Group;
   Blockchain: Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Inc., Xapo Holdings Limited;
   Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures;
   Nonprofits, multilateral organizations, academic institutions: Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking.
   
   Facebook hopes to reach 100 founding members before the official launch and is open to anyone that meets the requirements, including competitors to like Google or Twitter.
9. The association will promote the open-sourced Libra blockchain and developer platform with its own programming language Move. Moreover, it will work on expanding the network of merchants accepting Libra as a payment method.
10. With Libra, Facebook aims to create a global digital currency that promotes financial inclusion for the unbanked or underbanked population.

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