The world truly needs a reliable digital currency and infrastructure that together can deliver on the
promise of “the internet of money.”
Securing your financial assets on your mobile device should be simple and intuitive. Moving money
around globally should be as easy and cost-effective as — and even more safe and secure than — sending
a text message or sharing a photo, no matter where you live, what you do, or how much you earn. New
product innovation and additional entrants to the ecosystem will enable the lowering of barriers to
access and cost of capital for everyone and facilitate frictionless payments for more people.
Now is the time to create a new kind of digital currency built on the foundation of blockchain
technology. The mission for Libra is a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that
empowers billions of people. Libra is made up of three parts that will work together to create a more
inclusive financial system:
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It is built on a secure, scalable, and reliable blockchain;
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It is backed by a reserve of assets designed to give it intrinsic value;
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It is governed by the independent Libra Association tasked with evolving the
ecosystem.
The Libra currency is built on the “Libra Blockchain.” Because it is intended to address a global
audience, the software that implements the Libra Blockchain is open source — designed so that anyone
can build on it, and billions of people can depend on it for their financial needs. Imagine an open,
interoperable ecosystem of financial services that developers and organizations will build to help
people and businesses hold and transfer Libra for everyday use. With the proliferation of smartphones
and wireless data, increasingly more people will be online and able to access Libra through these new
services. To enable the Libra ecosystem to achieve this vision over time, the blockchain has been
built from the ground up to prioritize scalability, security, efficiency in storage and throughput,
and future adaptability. Keep reading for an overview of the Libra Blockchain, or read the technical
paper.
The unit of currency is called “Libra.” Libra will need to be accepted in many places and easy to
access for those who want to use it. In other words, people need to have confidence that they can use
Libra and that its value will remain relatively stable over time. Unlike the majority of
cryptocurrencies, Libra is fully backed by a reserve of real assets. A basket of bank deposits and
short-term government securities will be held in the Libra Reserve for every Libra that is created,
building trust in its intrinsic value. The Libra Reserve will be administered with the objective of
preserving the value of Libra over time. Keep reading for an overview of Libra and the reserve, or
read more here.
The Libra Association is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland. The association’s purpose is to coordinate and provide a framework for governance
for the network and reserve and lead social impact grant-making in support of financial inclusion.
This white paper is a reflection of its mission, vision, and purview. The association’s membership is
formed from the network of validator nodes that operate the Libra Blockchain.
Members of the Libra Association will consist of geographically distributed and diverse businesses,
nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions. The initial group of
organizations that will work together on finalizing the association’s charter and become “Founding
Members” upon its completion are, by industry:
- Payments: Mastercard, Mercado Pago, PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe,
Visa
- Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra, Farfetch, Lyft,
Spotify AB,
Uber Technologies, Inc.
- Telecommunications: Iliad, Vodafone Group
- Blockchain: Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Inc., Xapo Holdings Limited
- Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive
Capital,
Union Square Ventures
- Nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions: Creative Destruction
Lab,
Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking
We hope to have approximately 100 members of the Libra Association by the target launch in the first
half of 2020
Facebook teams played a key role in the creation of the Libra Association and the Libra Blockchain,
working with the other Founding Members. While final decision-making authority rests with the
association, Facebook is expected to maintain a leadership role through 2019. Facebook created
Calibra, a regulated subsidiary, to ensure separation between social and financial data and to build
and operate services on its behalf on top of the Libra network.
Once the Libra network launches, Facebook, and its affiliates, will have the same commitments,
privileges, and financial obligations as any other Founding Member. As one member among many,
Facebook’s role in governance of the association will be equal to that of its peers.
Blockchains are described as either permissioned or permissionless in relation to the ability to
participate as a validator node. In a “permissioned blockchain,” access is granted to run a validator
node. In a “permissionless blockchain,” anyone who meets the technical requirements can run a
validator node. In that sense, Libra will start as a permissioned blockchain.
To ensure that Libra is truly open and always operates in the best interest of its users, our ambition
is for the Libra network to become permissionless. The challenge is that as of today we do not believe
that there is a proven solution that can deliver the scale, stability, and security needed to support
billions of people and transactions across the globe through a permissionless network. One of the
association’s directives will be to work with the community to research and implement this transition,
which will begin within five years of the public launch of the Libra Blockchain and ecosystem.
Essential to the spirit of Libra, in both its permissioned and permissionless state, the Libra
Blockchain will be open to everyone: any consumer, developer, or business can use the Libra network,
build products on top of it, and add value through their services. Open access ensures low barriers to
entry and innovation and encourages healthy competition that benefits consumers. This is foundational
to the goal of building more inclusive financial options for the world.