Traders Can Now Bet on Whether Libra Will Launch in 2020
- Crypto exchange CoinFlex will soon launch its Libra initial futures opening (IFO), which will let traders bet on whether the project will launch before December 30, 2020.
- The initial price of the contract will be set at $0.30, which represents a 30% chance for the project to launch before its settlement date.
David Marcus, CEO of Facebook’s Calibra digital wallet service, arrives for a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. CNN
Crypto futures exchange CoinFlex will be issuing physically-delivered futures contracts, which will be settled depending on Facebook’s Libra launch date, Bloomberg reported on 7 October.
According to the publication, the new offering will be launched by the Seychelles-resigstered exchange on 24 October through an “initial futures opening” (IFO).
This Libra IFO is a physically settled product, which lets investors bet on whether Libra will be launched before the settlement date, 30 December 2020.
The price of the futures contract will be set at 30 cents, which represents a 30% likelihood that Libra will launch before the settlement date, and will be paid out in Libra tokens.
Traders who did not participate in the launch, will be able to trade the contracts 30 minutes after the start of the IFO, for prices that better align with their belief of the Libra launch date.
For example, if a trader thinks its 70% likely for Libra to launch before the settlement date, he can pay 70% of one Libra token, and if he is correct, he bought the token at a discount, and if not, he loses his investment.
Betting against the 2020 launch is also a possibility, with gains for long and short trades being capped at $1.10 per Libra.
CoinFlex’s Hong Kong-based chief executive officer, Mark Lamb, said:
“Facebook has the ability to rival the entire global banking system from day one, but, because of that fact, when that first day will be is far from certain. The political backlash has been brutal, and it’s anyone’s guess if Facebook will get this over the line.”
Even though the head of Calibra, David Marcus, has said that the goal is a 2020 Libra launch, pushback from regulators could delay the launch significantly.
Back in July, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services wrote an open letter to Facebook, requesting that the development of the stablecoin is stopped.
The cryptocurrency project may also be blocked in Europe, according to a statement from the French Economy and Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire.
The pushback from regulators is also starting to affect the Libra Association.
Last week, PayPal officially announced it will be withdrawing from the Libra Association, while rumors claim that Visa and Mastercard are currently considering backing out of the Facebook-led digital venture.
- The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed a lawsuit against trading platform eToro over its contract for difference (CFD) product.
- The regulator claimed the product’s target market was too broad, and that eToro used insufficient screening tests when offering the leveraged derivative contracts to retail users.
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- The 2.9 billion active monthly users of Facebook are now able to post their digital collectibles and NFTs on their Facebook accounts.
- The feature was first available to a limited number of Instagram users, but was later expanded across 100 countries, with support for Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains.
- Roger Ver admitted that he owns equity in the Seychelles company which runs CoinFlex.
- While unable to provide details about the margin call situation, Ver reaffirmed his position that CoinFlex owes him money and not the other way round.