The project’s governing association said it will launch “single-currency stablecoins,” based on sovereign currencies like the U.S. dollar, British pound or the euro, backed by reserves holding the equivalent in cash and short-term government bonds. The Libra digital currency itself will be backed by these new tokens, rather than a separate asset pool. The association also said a subsidiary is seeking regulatory approval for its payment network from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). (The Logic)

Talking point: Thursday’s announcement confirms reports last month that the Libra would include digitized sovereign currencies in response to policymakers’ concerns that the private project would supplant them. The changes make Libra effectively a token-based payment network, instead of the more ambitious financial-services ecosystem Facebook initially envisioned. While FINMA is a Swiss national regulator, it said it’s working with more than 20 other financial authorities and central banks on stablecoin policy.