OpenLibra – a Permissionless Fork of Facebook’s Libra

Several blockchain companies and non-profit organizations are planning to create a permissionless fork of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin.

During this year’s Ethereum developer conference, Devcon 5, the co-founder of blockchain startup Wireline, Lucas Geiger, announced the creation of OpenLibra, a project which will act as a stablecoin that is pegged to the Libra token.

The first version of the permissionless Libra-based virtual machine, which will run on top of the Tendermint blockchain software, has already been released on GitHub.

Geiger said during his presentation:

“We’re going to fork the code, fork the community and create a new cryptocurrency called OpenLibra. There is no token sale. No equity and no company behind this initiative.”

The core team and contributors behind the OpenLibra project include representatives from projects such as Cosmos, Wireline, Radicle, Democracy Earth, BlockScience, Web3 Foundation, Ethereum Foundation, Singapore University, Gearge Mason University, the Danish Red Cross and Kyokan.

The aim of the project, according to its website, is to become “an alternative to Facebook’s Libra”, which focuses on open governance and economic decentralization.

The website continues:

“Despite pushback from nation-states, we believe that Facebook is likely to succeed in their goal. OECD Governments will be focused on their own outcomes, and in reality have little legislative power to leverage against a transnational force such as Facebook’s Libra. For that reason we are creating OpenLibra.”

Geiger has reportedly said that OpenLibra’s research has been supported by a “generous grant” from the Interchain Foundation, and that there are other grants to come.

He has also claimed that anything that can run on Facebook’s Libra can be used in OpenLibra with a simple “drag and drop”.

Geiger also explained that the main problem with Facebook’s Libra is “governance”, and that Facebook can be attacked from different angles.

He added:

“We have less regulatory exposure than Facebook. Governments have less leverage on us. We gain strength by having more members that are decentralized not just geographically but politically and economically.”