Facebook had to invent a totally new programming language, Move, for its Libra cryptocurrency project because no other language was up to the task (FB)
Last week, Facebook announced a brand new cryptocurrency of its own called Libra — an initiative that has already drawn the attention of Silicon Valley, government officials, and even astrologists.
Less noticed was the fact that Facebook also launched a new programming language to use with Libra, called Move. This language is specifically designed for blockchain transactions, and for developers to build apps that work with Libra. It's still in its early stages, but the idea is that the Move programming language allows apps to move Libra coins from one account to another without being misplaced or duplicated.
"One of the things that's powerful about Move is it's very expressive," Ben Maurer, tech lead for the Libra-focused Facebook subsidiary Calibra, told Business Insider. "Move can express things ranging from simple transactions like sending money to more complex transactions like how money is created and destroyed."