Facebook’s controversial cryptocurrency Libra renames as Diem ‘reinforcing its organisational independence’ and could launch as early January 2021, the Financial Times reports. 

It was announced yesterday that The Libra Association will now go by The Diem Association in bid to distance itself from Facebook.  

Diem Association CEO Stuart Levey commented on the move stating: 

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,

He continued: 

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.

The Diem Association, the consortium co-founded by Facebook, have stepped back and reassessed their ambitions; opting for several single-currency stable-coins as opposed to their initial proposal consisting of multiple currencies. The new single dollar-backed coin will enter the rink against other stablecoins like Tether (USDT).  

Diem will stand out compared to other cryptocurrency offerings due to it being a stablecoin, meaning it will be backed by real assets. However, The Diem Association haven’t commented yet on their assets of choice, yet it is predicted that Libra will adopt the U.S. dollar, euro, pound or Singapore Dollar as the base currencies for their stablecoins. According to the Financial Times, it is quite likely that Diem will be backed against the U.S. Dollar. 

The Financial Times noted on Friday that: 

The association would now initially just launch a single coin backed one-for-one by the dollar … The other currencies and the composite would be rolled out at a later point.

Despite the drastic stripped-down version of The Diem Association’s original proposal, the actual launch of the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency is still reliant on regulatory approval, the Financial Times argued. 

Moreover, there is potential for Facebook to simultaneously launch Novi, originally Calibra, its own Diem wallet.  

It should be noted that Facebook will not have direct control over Diem, this will be under the authority of The Diem Association. Nonetheless, the social media network will assume responsibilities as a co-Founding member.  

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