Facebook's Libra faces obstacles in one of its biggest markets, because Indian regulators want to jail those who trade in cryptocurrency

• Facebook has launched Calibra – a digital wallet with its own cryptocurrency called Libra.
• Libra will be officially launched in 2020.
• However, India which is one of Facebook’s biggest markets is proposing a draft bill which could cryptocurrency users for 10 years.

Facebook has announced its new product Calibra, a digital wallet which will be powered by its own cryptocurrency Libra. The wallet is expected to be officially launched in 2020 will be available on all of its platforms – messenger and WhatsApp.

“Calibra will let you send Libra to almost anyone with a smartphone, as easily and instantly as you might send a text message and at low to no cost. And, in time, we hope to offer additional services for people and businesses, like paying bills with the push of a button, buying a cup of coffee with the scan of a code or riding your local public transit without needing to carry cash or a metro pass,” said Facebook’s official blog.

While the launch of Libra has taken the world by storm, announcing social media giant’s entry into fintech, there is one growing concern. One of its biggest markets – India – is looking to ban crypto currencies.

A draft bill titled Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019 might slap a ten year jail sentence on those who “mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose, issue or deal in cryptocurrencies”.

India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also stated its disregard for cryptocurrencies. In January 2019, the RBI had told the Supreme Court of India that it does not want the cryptocurrency to spread like “contagion”, adding the virtual currencies can be harmful.

Meanwhile, Facebook has big names like Uber, PayPal, Visa and Mastercard on board to fund its cryptocurrency venture, with $10 million each.

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