Libra cryptocurrency not out to replace existing money: project head

FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen on representations of virtual currency in front of the Libra logo in this illustration picture, June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) – The Facebook-conceived (FB.O) Libra cryptocurrency, to be launched by a Geneva-based association next year, is not intended to replace existing currencies, Libra Association Managing Director Bertrand Perez said on Friday.

“We are not in the area of implementing any monetary policy with the (Libra) Reserve,” Perez said at a blockchain conference hosted at United Nation headquarters in Geneva.

The project could help reach many U.N. sustainable development goals, such as eliminating poverty and reaching gender equality, he said at the conference, which included speakers from the Swiss National Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi: Editing by Michael Shields

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source: reuters.com