On June 18, 2019, Facebook released its white
paper (the "White Paper") revealing
the details of its new cryptocurrency Libra. Libra is
expected to be publicly launched in the first half of 2020.
The White Paper states that Facebook's mission is to seek to
create a more inclusive financial system, accessible to everyone
including the 1.7 billion 'bank-less' population.
According to the White Paper, Libra will not be controlled by
Facebook. This role will instead be assigned to Calibra, a
subsidiary of Facebook registered as a money services
business. This seeks to ensure that customers' social and
financial data remain separated. Calibra will build and operate
services on top of the Libra network, including its first product,
a digital wallet for Libra. The wallet will be available in
Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app.
