Libra

Facebook Inc. has renamed its blockchain division, called Calibra, to distance it from the Libra digital currency that Facebook created. The blockchain team is building a digital wallet for Facebook’s apps, which will eventually hold the Libra digital currency, but Facebook won’t control the coin.

The U.S. Patent office published a Visa patent application to create a technology gateway that could allow central bank currencies for any nation to be digitized.

Stuart Levey, HSBC’s chief counsel and a former U.S. Treasury undersecretary, will head the cryptocurrency project; lender groups say the demands of those small business loans are not so easy to meet.

The former Treasury Department official would be the first CEO of the digital currency association, which is seeking payment licenses in the U.S. and Europe.

Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency has been climbing uphill from the start, losing many prominent partners along the way — though the recent addition of Checkout.com will partially make up for those setbacks.

Just as U.S. lawmakers are ramping up demand for a digital dollar, Facebook's Libra project is dialing back its scope.

Partisan differences get in the way of new aid program for small businesses as SBA program runs out of money; loan servicers want a bailout as defaults are expected.

India's 2018 ban on banks servicing traders and businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies has been overturned by the country's Supreme Court, opening the door for bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra.

Facebook and its partners are considering redesigning the Libra cryptocurrency project so that the network accepts multiple coins, including those issued by central banks, in an effort to woo reluctant global regulators and rebuild momentum for the plan.

The deal, which could be announced Monday, would push the TurboTax maker into consumer finance; the bank would follow U.S. rival Goldman Sachs into the British market.

Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify Inc. announced Friday it was joining the Facebook-led Libra Association, becoming the first new member since several high-profile exits.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told senators that the central bank is willing to explore a credit-sensitive interest benchmark in addition to the secured overnight financing rate, which some banks say could cause problems during economic stress.

There is another phase of development for digital currency, waiting to take the spotlight — and it may not be driven by banks.

Facebooks’ Libra cryptocurrency project has been losing high-profile support for months, but the loss of Vodafone may be its most critical.

Citi, Goldman chiefs say they won’t be pressured to stop financing companies based on carbon footprint; Vodafone bolts from Facebook’s digital currency project.

Some of the world’s major central banks are teaming up to assess potentially developing their own digital currencies, acknowledging that their role is being challenged by new technologies and private sector initiatives such as Facebook Inc.’s Libra.

Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project has drawn vast political pushback, but also more tangible government action as nations globally consider central bank supported digital currencies. It’s also sparking a potential bottom-up approach in New York.

Facebook’s stablecoin initiative has inspired countless ideas about how to put fintech under the control of federal regulators. Here are the most critical questions.

The Treasury secretary suggested a role for lawmakers in containing any fallout with financial contracts stemming from the transition to a new interest rate benchmark.

Global stablecoins could hurt financial stability if they are improperly designed and unregulated, according to a Fed report.