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, by Joe Light, Benjamin Bain, Olga Kharif

Odaily Translator |

Facebook and its partners are considering redesigning the cryptocurrency project Libra so that the network accepts multiple currencies in an effort to attract reluctant global regulators and rebuild momentum for the initiative.

When Facebook unveiled its plans for Libra, it said it intended to create a single global digital currency. Anyone (especially the 1.7 billion unbanked) can send money anywhere in the world for a fraction of the cost, as easy as sending a text message.

Eight months later, Facebook and the Libra Association behind the digital currency are considering an overhaul after the idea faced opposition, three people familiar with the matter said. Two of the people said they were considering rebranding Libra as a payments network that could use multiple tokens.

• (Odaily Note: There are differences in the reports of different media here. According toReuters，The InformationReutersThe BlockReuters

It was reported earlier that Facebook would adjust its digital currency plans under the scrutiny of regulators, and that Facebook would not provide Libra through its own services; but then the media corrected the article and said that Facebook is still committed to providing Libra. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the company is working on a digital version of the government-backed currency and still plans to offer the proposed Libra token. Under pressure from regulators, Facebook has decided to offer its users digital versions of government-backed currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the euro, in addition to the proposed Libra token, according to The Information, three people familiar with the matter said.

Citing The Information, Facebook will develop several independent digital tokens, each of which is linked to different government-issued currencies such as the US dollar and the euro. These new tokens will be offered through Calibra, Facebook's digital wallet. Although the launch of Calibra was delayed from June to October, Facebook still hopes to launch Calibra and these digital currencies at the same time. The company hopes to offer the wallet on WhatsApp and Messenger, but it may initially be limited to certain countries based on the local currencies it supports. )

But if the revamped Libra is more of a payments network than a single global cryptocurrency, the average American consumer may not find Libra's partnership with PayPal Holdings Inc. How much difference there is between existing payment systems operated by funded fintech startups.

Facebook and the Libra Association declined to comment.

What has happened to Libra since its launch in June 2019 is the story of arrogant, cautious lawmakers, protective regulators and partners worried about the associated risks. Facebook and 27 other companies announced the project as a way to connect the world while also bypassing the financial system and reducing the cost of sending money, especially for the unbanked. Members of the project initially include Visa, Mastercard Inc. and other large companies that will become Facebook's partners in managing the system.

As originally envisioned, the Libra token will be based on a basket of relatively stable assets, such as the U.S. dollar and government bonds, the euro, the Singapore dollar, the British pound and the Japanese yen. The Libra Reserve, made up of these currencies and debt instruments, will back the token, whose value will adjust to the market value of the underlying asset.

But the plan was shelved almost immediately. U.S. lawmakers say they don't trust Facebook to manage a financial network after it has made high-profile missteps in other areas, particularly its repeated failure to protect user data.

Some central bank officials have said the new digital currency could compromise the sovereignty of national currencies, while finance ministers fear it could lead to money laundering. Some European regulators have publicly declared that the project will never be approved.

The Geneva-based Libra Association tried to formalize membership last October, and many of its most prominent members, including Visa and Mastercard, dropped out. The project currently has 20 of the original 28 members, though it recently added two more — cloud-based commerce company Shopify Inc. and cryptocurrency trading platform Tagomi Trading LLC.

While some have turned a blind eye to the project, representatives of Facebook and the Libra Association have continued to meet with officials from the U.S. Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other U.S. regulators to address their criticism, the people said.

Treasury Department officials in particular continue to focus on how the project will ensure its payments network is not being used for money laundering, a person familiar with the matter said.

Some involved with the Libra project worry that the SEC could rule that a token backed by a basket of currencies is a security, a tradable financial asset like a stock or bond. Such a decision would subject Libra to a series of disclosure requirements, with regulators imposing the same strict restrictions as stock offerings, undercutting the token's usability.

The central bank official also said that if Libra issued tokens backed by multiple currencies, it would weaken its ability to manage national currencies.

Since Facebook announced the Libra project, several central banks, including the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, have said they are exploring their own digital currencies. The overhaul is aimed at ensuring the new payment network is compatible with the projects, not competing, the people said.Officials from Libra and Facebook have traveled the world over the past few months, speaking at conferences about how payments networks like Libra could lower the cost of sending money.At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Facebook executives and Libra co-founders

David Marcus highlights

, the Libra network will not exclude these central bank projects.

“I really want to make a distinction between the network and the assets that run on top of the network, which I think could be issued by many different entities, whether it’s a central bank or the private sector,” Marcus said, suggesting that Libra’s new form factor might Will carry multiple digital currencies.

Jennifer Campbell, founder of Tagomi, one of the new members of the Libra Association, said: "We think there is a lot of momentum." The first is a payment network."