Facebook may revamp Libra digital currency

Facebook Inc. and its partners are considering redesigning the Libra cryptocurrency project so that the network accepts multiple coins, including those issued by central banks, in an effort to woo reluctant global regulators and rebuild momentum for the plan.

When Facebook unveiled Libra, it said it intended to create a single global digital currency.

Anyone, especially the 1.7 billion people who have no bank account, could send money anywhere in the world at little cost, as easily as sending a text.

Eight months later, after the idea ran into a wall of opposition, Facebook and the Libra Assn., the consortium behind the digital currency, are looking at a revamp, said three people familiar with the matter. They are weighing a recast of Libra as mostly a payment network that could operate with multiple coins, two of the people said.

The coins could include those issued by central banks and backed by the U.S. dollar, the euro or other currencies, the people said. The association will reintroduce Libra soon, said the people, who asked not to be named because the redesign remains in flux and the plan could change.

The dream of a single global coin isn’t dead, said one of the people familiar with the overhaul.

The new plan could expand, not pull back from, the original vision, that person said.

But if the revamped Libra becomes more of a payment network than a single, global cryptocurrency, the average U.S. consumer might not see much difference between Libra and existing payments systems run by PayPal Holdings Inc. or numerous fintech startups that aim to seamlessly move funds around the globe.

Facebook and the Libra Assn. declined to comment.