During the July 17, 2019 House Financial Services Committee hearing on Facebook’s proposal to create a cryptocurrency called “Libra,” the following exchange took place between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Facebook’s head of the Libra project, David Marcus:

REP. OCASIO-CORTEZ: Libra is, according to your White Paper, a unit of currency “backed” by a reserve governed by the Libra Association. Now, to economists, to Members of Congress, to accountants, the term “backed” has a very specific meaning … . Yet the Libra white paper does not define “backed.” Rather it states that Libra will be “backed by government currency and government securities.” So what does “backed” mean, in your sense?

MARCUS: Congresswoman, it means that it will have a reserve, 1-for-1, for every unit of Libra you will have the corresponding value in stable currencies.

(7/17/19 Hearing video at 3:04:28 to 3:05:07.)