The release date for Facebook’s stablecoin, Libra, has always been a tentative next year. However, there was always a chance that the asset may never launch at all. Libra head David Marcus said in an interview with NZZ, though, that the company is still bent on launching next year.

Of course, there’s still a lot of work to do until then. As of now, Marcus and his project have faced loads of criticism stretching from privacy concerns to regulatory requests. The head insists that Libra will have all of these concerns addressed by the time of release, however. This is key, otherwise, countries like France won’t allow it within their borders.

Libra, while backed fiat payment methods and supported by the Libra Association, a consortium of companies like MasterCard and PayPal, isn’t intended for use as a daily currency. Rather, the currency is meant for cross-border transactions and, we can guess, transactions made on Facebook’s applications like WhatsApp or Messenger.

“It’s unlikely in any case the people will pay for an espresso in Switzerland, Germany or France with Libra in the future,” confirms Marcus.

The interview also sees the Libra head speak on his asset potentially affecting the world’s financial balance. He doesn’t think it will, considering that Libra won’t bring new money into the world, and is rather a way of transporting it. That and it won’t have interest rates or yields.

Interestingly, just a few days ago, Marcus claimed that Libra is “a chance for the free world” and that it must release before China’s stablecoin, which “can now be said to be ready.” Facebook is one of the only companies in the world that could compete with what Marcus considers a surveillance currency.

What do you think about Libra releasing next year? Do you think it’s on the right track? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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