Facebook leads consortium creating Libra digital currency, launches Calibra digital wallet

– Facebook is leading a consortium creating a new digital currency called Libra.Other members include payments companies Visa, Stripe, PayPal and Mercado Pago, and that will help merchants accept Libra. Some tech companies are also on board, including eBay, Lyft, Uber, Spotify, and Latin American payments platform Mercado Pago.

– Facebook will also create a new subsidiary, Calibra, to build a digital wallet for people to store and exchange the currency using Facebook apps.

Facebook is unveiling an ambitious plan to create a new digital currency and financial system to transform the way money moves around the world, and not just on its own apps. It’s leading a consortium to create an open-source digital currency called Libra, set to launch in the first half of next year. The goal is for developers to create services for consumers to send money around the world easily and for free — with the same convenience as sending a photo or a message.

Unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which can be hugely volatile and speculative, Libra will be backed by relatively stable government-backed money. “If you buy $50 of Libra, your $50 makes its way to the Libra Reserve,” said Marcus. “It’s designed to be stable and confer values on Libra that makes it more like a traditional currency than any of the digital currencies are now. This is the way paper money was created.”

The fact that the Libra blockchain is open-source means that anyone can build a service or app that uses the currency. The wallets that are developed to use the service will be interoperable, so you’ll be able to send money from Facebook’s Calibra wallet to any other system that accepts Libra.