Details are emerging on which fiat currencies might back the Libra stablecoin.
Bloomberg reported Monday that Facebook wrote a letter to U.S. Senators about
Libra, addressing concerns over potential Chinese influence on the cryptocurrency. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) previously wrote to Facebook asking the company to exclude the Chinese yuan from the basket of assets backing the Libra stablecoin.
“Any decision whether to add a new currency to the Libra Reserve would be made based on all the facts and circumstances at the time, including any direct or indirect regulatory restrictions,” Facebook reportedly wrote, adding that the decision would be made by the Libra Association, not Facebook itself.
According to Bloomberg, Facebook provided a list of possible currencies to include in the Libra Reserve but appeared to stop short of saying that the yuan would be excluded outright.
The U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, British pound and the Singapore dollar were included in the letter.
Controversial launch
Facebook first unveiled its vision for Libra this summer, announcing it would create two tokens: the fiat-backed stablecoin and a security token that members of Libra’s governing council could use to oversee the network.
The project faced immediate pushback, with regulators in the U.S. and a number of other jurisdictions immediately calling for the company to halt development until lawmakers’ questions could be answered.