Why was Facebook’s Libra killed off? A blockchain firm advised by Nobel laureate Myron Scholes just launched a rival to Facebook’s Libra

www.cnbc.com/2019/12/10/saga-launches-sga-token-to-rival-facebooks-libra-cryptocurrency.html

Saga is launching a virtual currency which pegs its value to the basket of currencies that form the IMF’s special drawing rights. The U.K.-based company’s advisory board includes the likes of Nobel laureate Myron Scholes and J.P. Morgan’s Jacob Frenkel. But the firm doesn’t plan to launch its token in the U.S. yet, claiming it doesn’t currently have the regulatory clarity required to do so.

One blockchain company thinks it has an alternative to Facebook’s digital currency proposal.

With an advisory board that includes top economists like Nobel Prize-winner Myron Scholes, U.K.-based firm Saga hopes to introduce a global currency that regulators find agreeable.

The company on Tuesday launched its saga (SGA) token, a virtual currency tied to a basket of currencies in order to maintain a stable value. That’s not too dissimilar to Facebook’s libra, which was met with a barrage of regulatory opposition moments after being announced. But one key thing that sets it apart from that project is what Saga bases the currency’s value on.

Rather than creating a new asset basket like libra’s, Saga is pegging its token’s value to bank deposits in the same group of currencies that form the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDR) — these are international reserve assets held by central banks to supplement their official reserves. The basket is heavily weighted in dollars, as well as the euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and British pound.

Libra was a very interesting proposition IMO. I have a feeling that if another big tech company (with a better reputation) offered it, we’d see a lot less regulatory scrutiny. Is this an accurate assumption?

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AC

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