June 18th 2019 AKA, Facebook day. Not literally but today has been the day that Facebook has officially announced their new digital currency, Libra. It’s been a rumour for the past year or so but now it has been officially announced that Facebook has in fact been working in secrecy to provide the world with a brand new cryptocurrency. The social network has said users will be able to use the currency through its apps and Facebook-owned messaging services like WhatsApp. Following launch, users will be able to purchase Libra and store it in its own digital wallet which is called Calibra. Check out Libra’s stunning white paper here. In a statement, the firm said: “Over the coming months, the association and its members will be recruiting additional members to further diversify and support the network. We will also be raising money in a private placement to help jumpstart the ecosystem and drive adoption.” Libra’s founding members include all the following: Payments: Mastercard, PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe, Visa Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra, Farfetch, Lyft, Mercado Pago, 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, Nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions: Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking The statement goes on to state: “We will also continue engaging with regulators, policymakers, and experts to solicit feedback and ensure that this global financial infrastructure is governed in a way that is reflective of the people it serves. We believe this will be a significant undertaking — and responsibility — and we will continue to work openly and collaboratively as we move toward our goal of launching this new ecosystem in the first half of 2020.” Crypto enthusiasts are very wary of what this cryptocurrency will mean for the future of the space. Worries on Facebook’s handling a personal data aren’t new but with Libra’s announcement, those worries have grown.