Facebook has revealed more details about its controversial cryptocurrency project, unveiling which currencies will be used to back it.

In a letter to German politician Fabio de Masi, Facebook said that half of the Libra cryptocurrency would be backed by reserves of US dollars, while the euro, Japanese yen,British pound and Singapore dollar would also provide support.

Backing Libra with traditional currencies is designed to help solve the problem of price volatility, which continues to plague cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

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But notably absent from the basket of support currencies is the Chinese yuan the currency of the worlds second largest economy.

This may be a strategic decision by Facebook, who may hope that leaving out the yuan will help appease US regulators critical of Chinese economic and trade policy.

On 4 Feb, 2004, 19-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called 'TheFacebook' from his dorm. Within 24 hours the college social network had more than 1,000 users

Wikimedia Commons

Within one week of launching, fellow Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea. It would be four years later when the resulting lawsuit was finally settled

The social network finally opened it platform to everyone on 26 September, 2006. The move proved the catalyst in supercharging the site's already explosive growth

PA

Yahoo offered $1 billion to buy Facebook in September 2006 but Zuckerberg turned it down. 'I dont know what I could do with the money,' Zuckerberg reportedly said. 'Id just start another social networking site'

Reuters

In September 2009, almost five years since the site launched, Facebook turned a profit for the first time

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Facebook overtook MySpace in 2010 to become the worlds most popular social network

In 2011, Google launched its own social network that it hoped would knock Facebook from its perch. Despite its initial success, Google+ ultimately failed and will be shut down completely in 2019

Getty

On 18 May, 2012, Facebook went public. The initial public offering raised $16 billion the third largest in US history

Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion, consolidating its position as the world's leading social network

Reuters

On 4 October, 2012, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had hit 1 billion users. 'If youre reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honour of serving you,' he wrote in a blog post

Getty Images

In February 2014 Facebook acquired the messaging app WhatsApp for $19.3 billion

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

In June 2017, Facebook passed the 2 billion user milestone

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

On 17 March 2018, news broke that UK firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from around 87 million Facebook users for the purpose of political profiling in the build up to the 2016 US presidential elections

Shutterstock

Despite the scandals and subsequent #DeleteFacebook campaign, Facebook posted record profits just before its 15th anniversary, the equivalent of $7.37 from each of its 2.32 billions users

iStock/Independent

A study found that people are happier when they dont use Facebook, adding to mounting evidence surrounding the impact social media has on mental health

Rex Features

On 4 Feb, 2004, 19-year-old Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg launched a website called 'TheFacebook' from his dorm. Within 24 hours the college social network had more than 1,000 users

Wikimedia Commons

Within one week of launching, fellow Harvard students Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea. It would be four years later when the resulting lawsuit was finally settled

The social network finally opened it platform to everyone on 26 September, 2006. The move proved the catalyst in supercharging the site's already explosive growth

PA

Yahoo offered $1 billion to buy Facebook in September 2006 but Zuckerberg turned it down. 'I dont know what I could do with the money,' Zuckerberg reportedly said. 'Id just start another social networking site'

Reuters

In September 2009, almost five years since the site launched, Facebook turned a profit for the first time

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Facebook overtook MySpace in 2010 to become the worlds most popular social network

In 2011, Google launched its own social network that it hoped would knock Facebook from its perch. Despite its initial success, Google+ ultimately failed and will be shut down completely in 2019

Getty

On 18 May, 2012, Facebook went public. The initial public offering raised $16 billion the third largest in US history

Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion, consolidating its position as the world's leading social network

Reuters

On 4 October, 2012, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had hit 1 billion users. 'If youre reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honour of serving you,' he wrote in a blog post

Getty Images

In February 2014 Facebook acquired the messaging app WhatsApp for $19.3 billion

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

In June 2017, Facebook passed the 2 billion user milestone

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

On 17 March 2018, news broke that UK firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from around 87 million Facebook users for the purpose of political profiling in the build up to the 2016 US presidential elections

Shutterstock

Despite the scandals and subsequent #DeleteFacebook campaign, Facebook posted record profits just before its 15th anniversary, the equivalent of $7.37 from each of its 2.32 billions users

iStock/Independent

A study found that people are happier when they dont use Facebook, adding to mounting evidence surrounding the impact social media has on mental health

Rex Features

Facebook says it will launch Libra at some point in 2020, however it has faced criticism from financial policy makers and regulators since being unveiled earlier this year.

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier this month that Libras development would be blocked in Europe as itposes a threat to monetary sovereignty.

Politicians in the UK expressed similar concerns earlier this year, claiming Libra represents Facebooks latest attempt to turn itself into its own country.

Through itsCalibra subsidiary, Facebook has teamed up with some of the worlds biggest companies and financial institutions to develop and roll out Libra, including PayPal, Mastercard and Visa.

This collective of billion-dollar corporations, combined with Facebook's vast reach to billions of users around the world, is why regulators view it as such a threat to the established order.

Facebook has consistently claimed that it welcomes feedback from global regulators and will work with them to address any concerns.

A Libra spokesperson recently toldThe Independent: "We welcome this scrutiny and have deliberately designed a long launch runway to have these conversations, educate stakeholders and incorporate their feedback in our design."

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Facebook reveals which currencies will back Libra cryptocurrency - The Independent