Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, has suggested a transformation of the global financial system by replacing the United States dollar with a digital currency similar Facebook’s Libra. Delivering his speech at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Carney said that a Libra-like digital currency could replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 23. Carney said that replacing the dollar with a digital currency would be a better option than allowing its reserve status to be replaced by another national currency such as China’s renminbi. He added …

Over the past few days, a number of Libra-related announcements have been made — only, they weren’t from Facebook, the Libra Association, Calibra wallet or any other party involved in its development. First, top crypto exchange Binance announced a project called “Venus” — coincidentally, another astrology-themed name — which will focus on developing “localized stablecoins” worldwide; the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said it is almost ready to launch its government-backed digital currency, reportedly admitting that Libra prompted it to speed up; and Erik Finman, ostensibly the youngest Bitcoin (BTC) millionaire, launched a crypto peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app, called “Metal” …

At least three of Facebook’s early backers for its planned Libra stablecoin launch are considering withdrawing their support in light of the fierce regulatory pushback. A report from the Financial Times on Aug. 23 alleges that two founding partners of Facebook’s Libra Association have held discussions about what their “right next steps” should be. One further — again unnamed — backer is purportedly concerned that their public support for Libra will draw unwanted regulatory scrutiny of their own, independent businesses. Blame games As previously reported, the Libra Association is the newly-established, independent governance consortium for Libra. It counts 28 founding …

Within the past 12 months, stablecoins have transformed from a niche idea to tackle the issues of a volatile market into methods of payment championed by some of the world’s biggest and most powerful tech companies. Facebook’s announcement that it would be supporting the launch of a reserve-backed stablecoin played a vital role in turning around the so-called “crypto winter” by boosting Bitcoin (BTC) prices above $10,000 for the first time in over two years. Since then, the world’s number one cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has thrown its hat into the ring with its own stablecoin development project, “Venus.” Binance launches …

Taiwanese crypto exchange Maicoin is in talks with Facebook about becoming a member of the Libra Association. As local media outlet the Taipei Times reported on Aug. 21, Maicoin wants to join the nonprofit responsible for developing the social network’s long-awaited stablecoin. The company is specifically looking to operate a node on the blockchain-based network, which would validate and record transactions on the shared ledger. Participation in Libra development Maicoin CEO Alex Liu reportedly expressed confidence in the exchange’s chances for participating in the development of Libra, stating that: “When we reached Facebook and discussed getting involved in the project, …

Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp, is purportedly in preliminary talks with multiple digital payments firms as well as a state-owned bank to launch digital payment services in Indonesia. Reuters reported that they had learned of this development from anonymous sources on Aug. 20. According to the report, WhatsApp is currently negotiating with transportation booking service Go-Jek, mobile payments provider DANA, fintech startup OVO and state-owned Bank Mandiri. Bank Mindri operates a digital wallet service, per the report. WhatsApp’s plan for Indonesia is to support payments through digital wallets in the region, according to Reuters’ sources. The report further speculates that Facebook’s …

Antitrust regulators at the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, have sent out a questionnaire to determine whether Facebook’s proposed stablecoin Libra is an anti-competitive project. Bloomberg learned of the news via a private document, per a report on Aug. 20. According to the report, the commission sent out a questionnaire earlier in August in an attempt to figure out whether rival entities would be able to compete with the Libra Association and its product on a fair basis. Officials reportedly believe Libra may hinder competition via its exchange of information and use of consumer data. Moreover, …

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss — Bitcoin (BTC) bulls and founders of the Gemini crypto exchange — say they are open to partnering with archrival Mark Zuckerberg on Libra. CNN Business reported on Aug. 19 that the twins are not allowing their notorious and drawn-out settlement with Zuckerberg stand in the way of a potential collaboration. In talks to join the Libra Association Whether or not a partnership will finally materialize, Cameron told CNN that Libra represents a step towards mass adoption of cryptocurrency, underscoring: "I think there is a day in the future where we can't live without crypto, or …

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is almost ready to launch its government-backed digital currency, official sources say. An Aug. 20 report from the CPC-owned English-language news portal China Daily further revealed that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) may have been influenced by the unveiling of Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency, Libra. “Inspiration from Libra” After five years of research and system development work since 2018, the PBoC is almost ready to launch its CBDC, the deputy director of the bank’s payments unit Mu Changchun revealed at a forum last week. Trials for the currency have been ongoing and the institution …

China’s answer to Facebook’s Libra digital currency could help the central bank attract business away from Alipay and WeChat Pay. Speaking to mainstream media outlet the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Aug. 19, Cindy Wang, an analyst at DBS Group Research, said Beijing could profit from the appeal of its state-issued digital currency to merchants. Bringing back bank deposits According to Wang, the two payment giants Alipay and WeChat Pay account for nine out of every ten transactions in China. In addition, the digital currency could help limit capital outflows. “Currently, banks are under pressure to retain their deposit …

Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance is launching an open blockchain project “Venus” focused on developing localized stablecoins worldwide. In an announcement published today, Aug. 19, the exchange argues it is well-positioned to launch such a currency ecosystem in light of its existing public chain technology, Binance Chain, wide user base and already established global compliance measures. Leveraging existing know-how The exchange says it is seeking partnerships with governments, corporations, technology firms, and other cryptocurrency and blockchain projects in order to develop a new currency ecosystem that will empower both developed and developing countries The exchange’s vision for the project, per the …

On Aug. 18, the developers of ZenGo, a non-custodial keyless cryptocurrency wallet solution, announced that their app now supports Facebook’s Libra testnet. Experimenting with Libra According to the announcement, now users “can send and receive Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra, just like any other cryptocurrency in ZenGo.” The developers also noted that the “testnet funds don’t hold any real value and are only for testing purposes.” The post explains: “If you would like to experiment with Libra, you can turn on Libra testnet from the Account tab in the wallet. Once you turn on the feature, make sure your wallet is …