Zuckerberg ‘Really Focused’ on Launching Facebook’s Crypto Libra

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Joseph Young
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Mark Zuckerberg, the co-creator and CEO of Facebook, a $521 billion tech conglomerate, has said in an interview that the team is “really focused” on launching its crypto project Libra - and doing it right.

Speaking to Nikkei, Zuckerberg said:

"A lot of people have had questions and concerns, and we're committed to making sure that we work through all of those before moving forward. Obviously we want to move forward at some point soon [and] not have this take many years to roll out. But right now I'm really focused on making sure that we do this well."

The statement of Zuckerberg comes after the Libra consortium, which includes the likes of Mastercard and Visa, struggled to receive the approval of regulators worldwide to launch the crypto asset.

Will Libra ever launch with approval from regulators for a crypto asset?

Earlier this month, Germany and France both agreed to block the launch of Libra, stating that a private entity cannot claim “monetary power.”

The decision came after Bruno Le Maire, the Finance Minister of France, firmly said that due to various concerns about Libra and an entity launching a cryptocurrency, Europe should not approve its launch.

“All these concerns around libra are serious. So I want to say this with a lot of clarity: In these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of libra on European soil,” he said.

Although Libra co-creator David Marcus responded stating that the intent of Facebook’s crypto project is not to create a new monetary system but rather developing a secondary system on top of existing currencies, it remains to be seen whether the stance of regulations could change.

“Libra is designed to be a better payment network and system running on top of existing currencies, and delivering meaningful value to consumers all around the world. Libra will be backed 1:1 by a basket of strong currencies. This means that for any unit of Libra to exist, there must be the equivalent value in its reserve. As such there's no new money creation, which will strictly remain the province of sovereign Nations,” Marcus noted.

Libra is not shutting down

With Libra being one of the three main aspects of Facebook that Zuckerberg talked in depth about in his most recent interview, Facebook is likely to increasingly focus on launching Libra and doing it in the right way.

The Libra association is expected to move from one region to another to receive approval from eventually every major authority to push the project forward.

As Zuckerberg said:

"Part of the approach and how we've changed is that now when we do things that are going to be very sensitive for society, we want to have a period where we can go out and talk about them and consult with people and get feedback and work through the issues before rolling them out. And that's a very different approach than what we might have taken five years ago. But I think it's the right way for us to do this at the scale that we operate in.”

In the meantime, it is unclear whether the founding members of the project and the consortium for Libra will remain and stick to the project despite uncertainties surrounding government approval.