Facebook announced plans in June last year to spearhead the launch of a digital currency, dubbed Libra, that it said would enable fast, low-cost international payments online.
The Libra consortium, a 27-strong group made up largely of finance and technology companies, each agreed to contribute US$10 million ($15.1m) to kick-start the initiative and be a part of the board that oversees its development.
However, seven of these initial members — Mastercard, Visa, eBay, Stripe, PayPal, Mercado Pago and Bookings Holdings — quit in October after a regulatory backlash and warnings from some politicians that the project and any companies involved in it would be closely watched.
In mid-October, Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg faced bruising questioning from Congress over the plans, including monetary stability worries and scepticism over whether users' privacy would be respected.
Since then, the Libra Association has been working on developing a blueprint for a "Libra 2.0" that addresses US regulators' concerns, according to a person familiar with the project.
Several founding members have told the Financial Times they remain frustrated that Facebook is so closely associated with the project, despite attempts to spin it off as its own independently-governed effort. Facebook is still bankrolling Libra — members are yet to hand over the US$10m they have committed to it — and the association is still hunting for an independent head.
It is also in the process of assessing hundreds of applications from other non-profits and businesses to join the project.
"Although the make-up of the asssociation members may change over time, the design of Libra's governance and technology ensures the Libra payment system will remain resilient," Libra's head of policy and communications, Dante Disparte, said on Tuesday.
- Additional reporting by Nic Fildes
Written by: Hannah Murphy
© Financial Times