BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar will make up 50%of the basket of currencies backing Facebook's planned digitalcoin Libra, with the euro, yen, sterling and Singapore dollarcomprising the rest, Der Spiegel reported, referring to a letterfrom Facebook.
China's yuan currency will not be included, which could helpsmooth the planned cryptocurrency's path in the United States,where officials have raised concerns about the yuan's growingstature as a reserve currency at a time when trade relationsbetween the two economic powers are tense.
In a letter responding to a question from German legislatorFabio De Masi, Facebook said the dollar would make up 50% of thebasket, followed by the euro with 18%, the yen with 14%, theBritish pound with 11% and the Singapore dollar with 7%,according to German news magazine Der Spiegel.
Calls by Reuters to De Masi, the legislator who received theletter, were not immediately returned.
The Swiss-based Libra Association, the non-profitorganisation comprising Facebook and 27 other members that plansto launch and oversee the currency, declined to comment on thespecific breakdown of the "Libra Reserve".
But it said the reserve was expected to be a pool of cashand very short-term government securities denominated in U.S.dollars, euros, yen, sterling and Singapore dollars.
Facebook's planned Libra is the most well-known of thestablecoins, cryptocurrencies backed by assets such astraditional money deposits, short-term government securities orgold. They have the potential to be less volatile and more of amainstream asset than existing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Regulators around the world have reacted with extremewariness to the proposal, with central bankers warning theycould have a destabilising effect on the global financialsystem.(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Additional reporting by BrennaHughes Neghaiwi in Zurich; Editing by Pravin Char)