Libra cryptocurrency | At a glance

- ​Libra is a digital currency first set up and developed by Facebook, due to be launched in the first half of 2020.
- Facebook will set up a subsidiary called Calibra that will release a "wallet" app for buying and selling Libra. Users of WhatsApp and Facebook will be able to use Libra to send money to one another, and shopping and other features may follow.
- Although envisioned by Facebook, the social network says it will not run Libra. The association in charge of the currency has 28 founders, each with an equal say.
- Libra is designed for fast and cheap payments, and specifically targeted at people in emerging markets without a bank account as well as people sending money abroad.
- Unlike Bitcoin, its value is designed to be stable since it is backed by a reserve of currencies such as the pound and dollar.