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Facebook To Release Cryptocurrency by 2020

Facebook is launching its own brand of cryptocurrency called Libra in 2020, the tech company announced this week. Calibra, a subsidiary company of Facebook, released a white paper explaining the plan. They also launched an official Web site for Libra laying out plans to bring it to the market next year.

Calibra assures potential users that the cryptocurrency is secure and can be used with almost no fees. Users’ real names will also not be attached to the currency, which is purchased under a pseudonym by trading in local currency. However, federal regulators will probably approach Libra with a great deal more caution, especially since Facebook has been considered a target for antitrust legislation.

Kevin Weil, the Vice President of Product at Calibra, said Facebook and Calibra have totally different data systems. People who have worried about Facebook privacy breaches do not need to have the same concerns about Calibra, Weil said.

“Your social data on Facebook is kept separate from Calibra data,” Weil told the Washington Post. “This is not about improving ad targeting. We’re trying to draw a bright red line.”

Financial insiders are predicting that Libra could become more widely used than Bitcoin, the most common form of cryptocurrency on the market.