Libra Rebrands to Diem Ahead of the January Launch

The Libra Association announced that it has adopted a new name to mark a fresh start of the project ahead of the tentative launch in 2021. Libra association will be called the ‘Diem’ association from now on.

According to the official announcement, the association has recruited important executives to strengthen its organizational structure. The new appointments include Dahlia Malkhi as the Chief Technology Officer of Diem, Christy Clark as Chief of Staff, Steve Bunnell as Chief Legal Officer, and Kiran Raj as Executive Vice President for Growth and Innovation and Deputy General Counsel.

The Diem association has 27 members including names like Coinbase, Xapo, Shopify, Spotify, Slow ventures, Checkout.com and Blockchain capital. The association aims to develop a secure and trusted payment system in order to help consumers and businesses worldwide.

Diem is a Latin word that means ‘day’, the latest step from the Switzerland-based association indicates a shift from the original vision. Social media giant Facebook launched the project in 2019 with a vision to develop a stablecoin backed by a number of fiat currencies to be used worldwide. But, after receiving heavy criticism from regulatory authorities worldwide, the association dropped the idea of a multiple currency stablecoin and shifted towards a limited version of a single dollar-pegged stablecoin to be launched in January 2021.

Regulatory Hurdles

The Diem association plans to overcome the regulatory barriers this time to make sure the project meets all the regulatory requirements. The association outlined that it is committed towards innovation along with protecting the integrity of the financial system.

“The Diem project will provide a simple platform for fintech innovation to thrive and enable consumers and businesses to conduct instantaneous, low-cost, highly secure transactions. We are committed to doing so in a way that promotes financial inclusion, expanding access to those who need it most, and simultaneously protecting the integrity of the financial system by deterring and detecting illicit conduct. We are excited to introduce Diem, a new name that signals the project’s growing maturity and independence,” Stuart Levey, CEO of the Diem Association, said in a statement.