Facebook will unveil its secretive cryptocurrency next week

Big payment firms and other digital companies are all backing the social media giant’s first foray into crypto.

The news: Facebook will release the white paper associated with its new digital currency next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Firms like Paypal, Uber, Visa and Mastercard have all signed up as part of the consortium to control it. Each has invested $10 million into the project, according to the WSJ.

What is it? Very little is known about the digital currency so far, although it is expected to be a so-called “stablecoin," one that is pegged to the value of a fiat currency like the US dollar. Users will be able to use the coin, named Libra, to buy things on Facebook itself as well as across the internet.

But is it crypto? That’s the big question for crypto advocates. Even if it uses cryptography, it is unlikely to be truly decentralized. Many believe it may be more like a version of Paypal, rather than a true cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Read more here.