Facebook Inc. may launch its long-rumored cryptocurrency as soon as the end of this month, according to a report published Wednesday.

The Information, quoting people familiar with the plan, said Facebook also plans to cede control of the cryptocurrency to “outside backers” in a move to encourage trust in the digital payments system and to reassure financial regulators.

Facebook was first rumored to be developing its own cryptocurrency in December. That report claimed that the social networking giant was working on a stablecoin, a form of cryptocurrency that is pegged to a fixed asset, in most cases the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins offer the benefits of a typical cryptocurrency, including digital exchange and smart contract support, without massive fluctuations in their price since the coin or token directly corresponds to a tangible asset.

A report in May said Facebook was looking to raise up to $1 billion for a cryptocurrency-based payment system. Going by the internal name of Project Libra, the cryptocurrency is said to have been designed to operate as a competitor to payment networks such as Mastercard rather than existing cryptocurrencies.

The latest variation of the unconfirmed reports is that Facebook sees launching a cryptocurrency as a way to facilitate transactions across borders without transaction fees. The Information said it will be “aggressively marketed” in developing nations where government-based currencies are more volatile.

Facebook is also said to be soliciting third-party organizations to act as “nodes” to help manage the cryptocurrency, suggesting that the cryptocurrency will be blockchain-based. A node is a device on a blockchain network that assists in maintaining the transaction records of transactions on that blockchain. In the case of cryptocurrencies, that would involve maintaining transaction records.

The privilege of operating a node for Facebook’s cryptocurrency will not come cheap, however. Facebook is allegedly charging companies $10 million each to operate, with up to 100 nodes meaning a total of $1 billion in licensing fees.

At launch, the cryptocurrency will primarily live in Facebook’s app ecosystem, according to The Block, which said the company plans to expand support by partnering with merchants to accept the cryptocurrency as payment.

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