Recently, there was a message flooded by Tesla Battery day Oracle "California on the Cloud" and other eye-catching big news: Facebook Morgan Baylor, the co-founder of Libra, a digital currency project of.
Baylor, who joined Facebook in 2017, was also the co-founder of the company's Novi payment project (formerly Calibra digital wallet). It is said that Baylor is the main person promoting the digital currency project within Facebook. At one time, she alone carried the banner of Facebook blockchain development.
Watching the departure of the important officials, how many people still remember the high-profile Libra coins of the past? What will happen in the future?
Brewing
On February 12, 2018, Howard Wu, a Silicon Valley investor and cryptocurrency technology expert, was invited to Facebook headquarters to discuss the impact, opportunities and risks of launching blockchain technology to more than 2 billion online users.
However, he was not invited by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg or Vice President David Marcus. In fact, the person he met was Morgan Baylor.
Baylor has just joined Facebook less than a year ago. At the beginning, she was the only person in charge of Facebook's blockchain plan, studying blockchain technology and exchanging views with industry insiders.
With Baylor's efforts, Facebook began to attach importance to blockchain technology. In May 2018, the blockchain project was officially launched. Marcus, who was previously responsible for the Messenger application, also joined the new department, and together with Baylor, he recruited other top talents for the team within the company, such as Kevin Weir, the product director of Instagram.
Although Marcus has been making public appearances for the Libra coin project and Calibra digital wallet, publishing details in blog posts, and participating in interviews and congressional hearings since their public appearances, in fact, in the blockchain community, everyone knows that Baylor is the first person to promote the development of Facebook cryptocurrency.
Morgan Baylor First appearance
After a year of silence, the mysterious cryptocurrency project inside Facebook was dug out by the media. According to the media citing insiders, Facebook plans to launch a stable currency based payment platform. Before that, the company had secretly prepared for more than a year.
The internal code of the project is called "Project Libra", which aims to develop a cryptocurrency to facilitate the rapid transfer and online shopping between billions of Facebook users. Meanwhile, Facebook is also following Visa Contact MasterCard and other companies to get their support for cryptocurrency.
On June 18, 2019, the official website of Facebook cryptocurrency Libra was officially launched. The company said that Libra Coin will be managed by a global organization, the Libra Coin Association. Facebook also released a white paper for Libra Coin, detailing the plan for the cryptocurrency. At the same time, Facebook has set up a subsidiary, "Calibra", which will develop a new digital wallet, which can be used in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, as well as independent iOS and Android applications.
According to the white paper, the vision of Libra Coin is bold and ahead: to create a new decentralized blockchain, a low volatility cryptocurrency and a smart contract platform; Cooperate and innovate with the financial sector to jointly build a lower cost, more accessible and more closely connected global financial system; Build a simple, borderless currency and financial infrastructure for billions of people.
encounter an obstacle
Facebook and Libra spent the second half of 2019 in an atmosphere of heavy censorship.
At first, the market was very optimistic about Facebook entering the cryptocurrency field. After the release of Librarian Coin, the company's share price soared 4.2%.
However, people soon realized that Facebook's Libra currency seemed to challenge the traditional global financial system. Facebook's huge business empire has been feared, and the company has lost user trust because of privacy issues. Is the Libra coin launched at this time reliable?
All of a sudden, criticism came one after another.
President Trump, who is still hostile to Facebook, said in a series of tweets that Facebook's libra is "untenable or unreliable", and also said that "if Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must first obtain a banking license like other banks, and then comply with all banking regulations and so on..."
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that in view of people's concerns about financial stability and consumer protection, Libra could not release the issue without an answer to the question of Libra's operation.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he was "very dissatisfied" with Libra, and added that Libra may be abused by criminals.
More and more US lawmakers and organizations have begun to call for a moratorium on the development of Libra coins.
The Group of Seven (G7) announced that it would set up a working group to evaluate Libra. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is also learning more about Libra. The European Commission is also planning to launch an antitrust investigation against the Libra Association.
David Marcus David Marcus, the leader of the Libra program, went to the Congress twice to testify. At the first hearing, he stressed that "the Libra project is very important to the United States, which can avoid the United States falling behind other countries in the blockchain revolution". However, Facebook, which has been involved in privacy and election scandals for many times in the past, can no longer be trusted and leads the leading blockchain revolution in the United States. The question "Why should it be Facebook?" has not been answered.
At the second hearing, Marcus said, "We will not launch the Libra until the confusion of the regulators has been completely solved." However, the answer that lawmakers hope to get is: suspend the development of the Libra.
Three months later, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went to Congress to testify in person. Zuckerberg reiterated that Libra coins will only be issued after obtaining the approval of the US regulatory authorities, and emphasized that "I do not control Libra coins". However, Zuckerberg did not provide new answers based on Marcus' testimony on Libra coins in July.
In this view, the possibility of launching Libra Coin in 2020 is getting lower and lower.
compromise
Under pressure, PayPal officially withdrew from the Libra Coin Association in early October 2019. A week later, Mastercard, Visa, Mercado Pago, Booking Holdings, eBay, Stripe and other companies also withdrew from the Librarian Association.
In order to win the approval of the regulatory authority, the Libra Coin Association revised the white paper in April 2020, abandoned the original idea, and announced the issuance of a series of stable currencies supported by a single currency instead of a single stable currency supported by a basket of currencies before.
This adjustment means a huge concession made by Libra to governments and central banks. Once the initial plan of Libra coins was released, it attracted global scrutiny and siege, because people feared that Libra coins would damage the monetary sovereignty of countries.
"Since the release of the original white paper, the Libra project has really caused important discussions around the world, such as' How should we properly regulate digital payments and digital currencies? '" said Dant Dispat, vice president of the Libra Association.
A month later, the original digital wallet "Calibra" was changed to "Novi". Calibra was originally a digital wallet built for Libra Coin. Users can use it through Messenger and WhatsApp, and it will also be released as an independent app. However, after the Libra project was blocked, Calibra is now renamed Novi. Facebook said that Novi would require the ID issued by the government to be used for verification, and the Novi wallet application would have a built-in "fraud protection" function.
After a series of adjustments, we can see that the Libra coin project will focus on creating a more traditional payment network, in which the currency is linked to the local legal currency, just like the digital dollars in PayPal accounts. Of course, Libra currency still has stable currencies supported by several countries, but its importance has declined.
Global expansion
Unlike last year when the Libra Coin project was announced, the current Libra Coin project seems less ambitious and receives less attention. Although the resistance of regulators cannot be said to be completely eliminated, the Libra Coin Association is still actively promoting market expansion and talent accumulation.
In the past few months, Libra Coin Association has been appointing strategic executives to prepare for global expansion and seeking opportunities in e-commerce and digital payment. In August, Stephen Bennell, a former US Department of Homeland Security official, was appointed as the general legal adviser of the Librarian Association.
In May, the Association appointed Stuart Levy, the chief legal officer of HSBC and the former deputy secretary of the US Treasury Department, as the new CEO; Appointed again in June Credit Suisse Sterling Dennis, Chief Compliance Officer, Head of Financial Crime Compliance.
In September, Libra Coin Association appointed James Emmett, a former HSBC executive, as the Managing Director of Libra Networks.
But in September, Morgan Baylor, one of the co founders of Libra Coin, who has been regarded by the currency circle as the original promoter of Facebook's cryptocurrency project, suddenly announced his resignation. It is said that Baylor resigned because she prefers to participate in projects built from scratch, which may also explain why she chose to join the venture capital firm NFX after her resignation - "if you invest, you will contact projects built from scratch".
If viewed from this perspective, does this mean that the Libra coin project has become mature?
On the other hand, the release of Libra coins seems to be far away. It was previously reported that the libra coin was scheduled to be released in the first half of this year. But now, with only about 100 days left in 2020, Libra coins seem to be fading out of people's sight.
The future is still full of uncertainty.
Perhaps, as Facebook admitted in the disclosure information submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Libra may never be released; Or even if it is released, this Libra coin is not the same.
The following is the detailed timeline of the development of the Librarian coin project:
two thousand and seventeen year twelve Month: David Marcus, former president of PayPal and vice president of Facebook's Messenger application, joined the board of directors of Coinbase.
two thousand and eighteen year five Month: Marcus announced that he would take charge of Facebook's new block chain department.
two thousand and eighteen year twelve Month: It is reported that Facebook is developing stable currency for WhatsApp transfer.
two thousand and nineteen year two month
February 4, 2019: Facebook acquires Chainspace, a smart contract developer.
February 28, 2019: It is reported that Facebook is developing a cryptocurrency that can be used between its different platforms.
two thousand and nineteen year five month
May 3, 2019: It is reported that Facebook is negotiating with Visa and MasterCard to support its stable currency linked to fiat currency, including seeking financing of $1 billion. The cryptocurrency "libra coin project" was first published.
May 17, 2019: Facebook registered its new company "Libra Networks" in Geneva.
May 24, 2019: It is reported that Facebook intends to launch stable currency in several countries/regions in the first half of 2020; Another report added that Facebook has been in contact with Coinbase and Gemini.
two thousand and nineteen year six month
June 3, 2019: It is reported that Facebook is negotiating its stable currency project with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
June 6, 2019: It is reported that Facebook will announce Libra coins to the world in the coming weeks.
June 7, 2019: Laura McCracken, Facebook's head of financial services in Northern Europe, confirmed that the company's stable currency will be linked to a basket of currencies, rather than just one currency.
June 13, 2019: It is reported that Uber, PayPal, Visa, Stripe, MercadoLibre, Bookings.com and MasterCard are all interested in supporting Facebook's new cryptocurrency.
June 18, 2019: Facebook officially launched Libra Coin and proposed a decentralized autonomous organization to supervise the project and a borderless and easy to transfer transaction mode. Facebook said that the company will participate in the Libra project through the new Calibra subsidiary. Calibra will develop a digital wallet for the project. The Libra Association will take the lead in the Libra coin project. At present, the Association has 28 member companies - which will grow to at least 100 in the future. Its main responsibility is to supervise the development of Libra Coin and obtain returns through "Libra Coin Investment Tokens".
June 18, 2019: U.S. lawmakers called for the immediate suspension of the development of Libra until they have a deeper understanding of the project.
June 19, 2019: The U.S. Senate Banking Committee announced that it would hold a hearing on Libra in July.
June 21, 2019: The Group of Seven (G7) announced that it would set up a working group to evaluate the Libra coin.
June 24, 2019: Representative Maxine Waters, chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the US House of Representatives, announced that a hearing on Libra would be held in July.
June 27, 2019: The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it was looking for more information about Libra and was in contact with Facebook.
two thousand and nineteen year seven month
July 2, 2019: Public Citizen, a privacy and consumer supervision agency in North America, called on legislators to stop the development of Libra coins; More lawmakers called for a moratorium on the development of Libra coins.
July 12, 2019: US President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets attacking Bitcoin and Facebook that Libra is "untenable or unreliable".
July 16, 2019: David Marcus attended the hearing of the Banking Committee of the United States Senate; It is worth noting that Bitcoin was not mentioned during the hearing.
July 17, 2019: David Marcus attended the hearing of the Financial Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives.
July 20, 2019: Morgan Beller, a former partner of Anderson Horowitz, appeared in media reports; She is said to be the main promoter behind Facebook's Libra coin project and Calibra.
July 24, 2019: Alfred Kelly, CEO of Visa, said that although his company has signed a non binding letter of intent, it has not yet become a member of the Librarian Association.
July 25, 2019: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that "no matter how long", his company will try to persuade lawmakers and launch Libra.
July 30, 2019: In the disclosure information submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, Facebook admitted that Libra may never be released.
two thousand and nineteen year eight month
August 23, 2019: It was reported that the strong opposition from the supervision caused the anxiety of three members of the Libra Coin Agreement, two of whom were considering quitting the project completely.
August 27, 2019: The Libra Coin Association announced a loophole reward plan, with a reward of up to 10000 dollars.
two thousand and nineteen year nine month
September 10, 2019: Facebook announced the list of legal tender that constitutes a basket of currencies in Libra: US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, British pound and Singapore dollar.
September 11, 2019: The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority confirmed that the Libra Association had contacted it and asked how the regulator would evaluate it.
September 16, 2019: David Marcus once again tried to refute the statement that Libra currency threatens monetary sovereignty or economic stability, in response to the criticism of French lawmakers such as Bruno Le Maire.
September 23, 2019: Facebook disclosed the details of supporting a basket of currencies in Libra: 50% US dollars, 18% euros, 14% yen, 11% pounds and 7% Singapore dollars.
two thousand and nineteen year ten month
October 4, 2019: PayPal officially withdrew from the Libra Coin Association.
October 11, 2019: Mastercard, Visa, Mercado Pago, Booking Holdings, eBay and Stripe withdrew from the Libra Association.
October 14, 2019: 21 companies signed the Articles of Association of the Librarian Coin Association, formally established the Council of the Stable Coin Initiative, and elected the Executive Committee.
October 22, 2019: Mark Zuckerberg attended the hearing of the Financial Services Committee of the United States House of Representatives.
two thousand and twenty year one month
January 9, 2020: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, said that the company plans to decentralize its finance and business by 2030.
January 17, 2020: Libra Coin Association announced the establishment of a technical steering committee led by representatives of its five member entities, which will supervise the development of its technical roadmap and try to establish a developer community.
two thousand and twenty year four month
April 16, 2020: The Libra Coin Association revised the white paper, abandoned the original idea, and announced the issuance of a series of stable currencies supported by a single currency, rather than a single stable currency supported by a basket of currencies.
two thousand and twenty year five month
May 6, 2020: The Librarian Association appointed Stuart Levey, the Chief Legal Officer of HSBC and the former Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury Department, as the new CEO.
May 19, 2020: The Librarian Association appointed Robert Werner, a former official of the Financial Crime Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, as its general counsel.
May 26, 2020: Calibra was renamed as Novi; Facebook also detailed the interoperability of Novi with Messenger and WhatsApp platforms.
two thousand and twenty year six Month: Sterling Daines, the head of financial crime compliance at Credit Suisse, was appointed as the chief compliance officer of the Libra Association.
two thousand and twenty year eight Month: Stevan Bunnel, a former US Department of Homeland Security official, was appointed as the general legal adviser of the Librarian Association, just three months after Werner was appointed.
two thousand and twenty year nine month
September 17, 2020: Libra Coin Association announced that James Emmett, a former HSBC executive, will become the Managing Director of Libra Networks.
September 22, 2020: Morgan Baylor, co-founder of Libra Coin, left Facebook and Novi to enter the venture capital company NFX.
