[ti:Facebook to Enter Financial World with Launch of Cryptocurrency] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.16]Facebook has announced the launch of its own digital currency [00:05.80]in a major new push into the worldwide financial services industry. [00:13.88]The new currency will be a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin. [00:20.72]A cryptocurrency is a kind of money that does not exist in the form of bills or coins. [00:28.73]Governments and banks do not oversee the money. [00:34.00]Instead, it is exchanged digitally between buyers and sellers using secret codes for security. [00:44.24]A network of computers records cryptocurrency activity between users. [00:52.24]The activity is included in a "ledger," or list, known as the blockchain. [00:59.28]The blockchain permits the activity records to be checked and stored securely. [01:06.83]People keep their cryptocurrency in digital wallets that operate in a way similar to online banks. [01:16.76]Facebook is calling its cryptocurrency Libra. [01:22.71]It expects to launch the service publicly in the first half of next year. [01:29.55]The U.S.-based social media service says Libra will be available to anyone [01:36.48]with a smartphone and internet connection. [01:40.00]"Moving money around the world should be as easy and cheap as sending a text message," [01:47.60]Facebook says on its website. "No matter where you live, what you do, or how much you earn." [01:57.24]The company says it especially wants to reach an estimated [02:02.74]1.7 billion "unbanked" people across the world who currently do not use a bank. [02:11.07]Costs to use Libra will be lower than what other companies currently charge for the service, Facebook said. [02:21.59]It has not yet released pricing information, however. [02:26.26]Facebook says its digital currency will differ in several ways from bitcoin [02:33.37]and other popular cryptocurrencies in use today. [02:37.69]Unlike the others, the company says, Libra's value will be tied to real money [02:45.19]backed by banks and government securities in major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, yen and others. [02:55.73]The Libra system will also be supported by several traditional financial companies, [03:02.88]including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and eBay. [03:08.87]Facebook set up the Switzerland-based not-for-profit Libra Association [03:15.34]to govern the activities of the digital currency. [03:19.35]The company says these changes are aimed at improving trust [03:25.72]and preventing major valuation changes of the Libra. [03:31.36]Investors in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars [03:38.64]because of sharp price drops and computer attacks. [03:43.33]Facebook created a separate company, called Calibra, to operate the Calibra wallet system. [03:53.20]The wallet is used to store, send and receive Libras. [04:00.04]Calibra will be available as an app on smartphones [04:04.19]or directly from Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp products. [04:09.61]Facebook said it had taken major steps to create a system that is private and secure. [04:18.12]People using Calibra will first have to go through a process to confirm their identities. [04:26.40]The company says Calibra will only share user information with parent company Facebook [04:33.40]and third parties when it receives user permission to do so. [04:39.54]User information might also be shared in some other "limited cases," [04:45.68]such as when law enforcement requests information, Facebook said in a statement. [04:53.68]Facebook has promised not to use any Calibra data to improve targeting of its advertising. [05:02.64]Businesses will see the same information about users who pay with Libra [05:07.64]as they do about users paying with credit cards, the company said. [05:14.44]Even with such statements and promises, Facebook is likely to face serious questions [05:21.44]about its new cryptocurrency system from lawmakers in the United States and other countries. [05:29.36]Some American lawmakers have already proposed that Facebook [05:34.80]face new rules or penalties – or possibly even be forcibly broken up [05:41.08]- for major incidents involving the misuse of private user data. [05:47.96]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM