When Facebook initially announced its Libra digital currency payment plan, the company’s ambitious plans were met with skepticism from policymakers and regulators around the world. On Thursday, the Libra Association revealed a scaled-back vision for the stablecoin and payment system, Reuters reports.
Originally, Libra was envisioned as a single, stable digital currency that would be backed by a select basket of currencies and government securities. According to the association, the new plan is to issue multiple coins denominated in different national currencies. The Libra stablecoin would be directly tied to those national currency stablecoins.
In addition, the plan proposes that Libra be subject to international oversight, in a move that appears to be designed to address central bank and regulatory concerns about the project:
In response, the Libra Association, which will issue the coin and govern its network, said a “college” of central banks, regulators and enforcement agencies from more than 20 countries set up by Swiss watchdog FINMA will have a say in its bid to be licensed as a payments service provider in Switzerland.
Calibra head economist Christian Catalini acknowledged the changes, suggesting that the new Libra would be a simplified version of the currency that was initially proposed:
“We’re retaining the construct of a multi-currency Libra, but it’s fundamentally changed, streamlined and simplified relative to the original one.”
The envisioned project would also apparently accommodate any central bank digital currencies that may be issued in the future by allowing them to be integrated into the network.
