Social media giant Facebook has released the white paper for its long-awaited cryptocurrency and blockchain-based financial infrastructure project today, June 18.
According to the paper, Facebook’s global stablecoin is dubbed “Libra,” will operate on the native and scalable “Libra” blockchain, and be backed by a reserve of assets ostensibly “designed to give it intrinsic value.”
Facebook states that the software that implements the Libra blockchain is open source in order to create an open and interoperable ecosystem of financial services and broaden inclusion.
The new cryptocurrency will be governed by a consortium, the “Libra Association,” which will oversee development of the ecosystem.
The coin will facilitate payments across Facebook’s various platforms including WhatsApp and Instagram, giving the new coin the potential to reach billions of total users globally.
Today’s release of the coin’s technical specs ends months of speculation and reports from undisclosed sources regarding the nature of the coin and its development.
Market observers have hailed the development as a major step forward for cryptocurrency adoption and Facebook as a company. Spencer Bogart, general partner at San Francisco-based investment firm Blockchain Capital, said:
“Facebook’s efforts in the space has the potential to be one of, if not the most significant external catalysts for bitcoin and crypto adoption in the technology’s history.”
Recent reports state that the testnet for Facebook’s Libra platform will be unveiled later this week. The social media platform has reportedly got support from dozens of firms including payment majors like Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, as well as ride-sharing service Uber.
An anonymous executive from South American e-commerce platform Mercado Libre told Cointelegraph Brazil that the firm would integrate Libra as a form of payment.
This article will shortly be updated with more information.