Facebook-backed Libra Association changes its name to Diem

 Libra Association, a cryptocurrency project started by Facebook Inc. that drew regulatory blowback worldwide, is hoping a new name offers a fresh chance to win over regulators and gain a foothold in the emerging market.

The group will now be known as Diem Association, named for the word “day” in Latin, with its subsidiary Diem Networks serving as the payment system operator. It’s readying a currency that will be called the Diem Dollar.

“We like the connotation of it kind of being a new day for the project,” the group’s chief executive officer, Stuart Levey, said in an interview. “We wanted a new start.”

Almost immediately after Libra launched in June 2019, politicians and regulators raised concerns about the effort. They worried about privacy, money laundering and companies like Facebook taking power away from central banks. Supporters like PayPal Holdings Inc. and Visa Inc. fled the project, which initially hoped to attract 100 members before launch.

The new Diem, which has 27 participants today, has abandoned the 100-member goal by launch and is taking things more slowly. The group plans to issue a stablecoin — a digital currency pegged to an outside asset — that’s tied to the U.S. dollar. Later, Diem may pursue additional fiat-based cryptocurrencies, Levey said.

Initially, Libra had proposed creating a cryptocurrency supported by a basket of government-issued fiat currencies and securities.

The group no longer needs 100 members...Read More: https://times24tv.com/facebook-backed-libra-association-changes-its-name-to-diem/