Facebook Inc. formally announced plans to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra, promising a secure blockchain-based payment system backed by hard assets and designed for mainstream users, the Wall Street Journal reported. Facebook today named a series of big, corporate partners — including financial-services heavyweights Mastercard Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. and tech giants Uber Technologies Inc. and Spotify Technology S.A. — that it said will help it create a “secure, scalable and reliable” cryptocurrency. Facebook is creating a regulated subsidiary, called Calibra, to ensure “the separation between social and financial data.” Calibra will roll out a crypto wallet — a digital wallet that can be used to pay for items online and send money — using Libra. Facebook said the service would be available by 2020 on its Messenger and WhatsApp services and as a stand-alone app.
