Binance to launch Venus stablecoin to compete against Facebook’s Libra

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has revealed plans to launch ‘Venus’, a stablecoin project pegged to a basket of global fiat currencies.

In an official announcement, Binance said that the Venus project will be “an open blockchain project” that will “develop localised stablecoins and digital assets pegged to fiat currencies across the globe”.

Binance co-founder and CMO Yi He claimed: “We have a vision to achieve a borderless financial system. It’s not just to the moon. To Venus.”

Venus will launch on the native Binance Chain while the exchange seeks collaboration with “government partners, companies, and organisations with a strong interest and influence on a global scale”.

The project has drawn parallels to Facebook’s controversial Libra Coin, which has been under intense scrutiny from the US Senate over the past few months.

However, Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao claims that Venus and Libra can co-exist, suggesting that Venus could actually help Facebook’s stuttering stablecoin.

He said: “Pushing adoption, yes. Domination, no. Always happy to co-exist. In fact, this should help Libra, if you think about it. Will leave it at that.”

Binance will also launch the US branch of the exchange “within two months” according to CZ, although ensuring compliance on a regulatory level may be difficult.

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