Yet Another Relaunch for Libra as New Name Unveiled

It’s been really hard keeping up with the ups and downs of Facebook’s embattled Libra stablecoin — and now, the project has undergone yet another rebrand.

The Libra Association, the non-profit organization behind the controversial digital asset, has now been renamed Diem… heralding “a new day for the project.”

Stuart Levey, the CEO of the Libra Assoc Diem Association, said:

“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.”

Levey added that the project is committed to promoting financial inclusion — serving the underbanked while “deterring and detecting illicit conduct,” a nod to regulators who have expressed serious reservations about the project. He added:

“We are excited to introduce Diem – a new name that signals the project’s growing maturity and independence.”

A series of new executives have been appointed to the project in recent weeks, with reports in the Financial Times suggesting that a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar could launch as early as January.

The rebrand comes just a few months after Calibra, the wallet that’s designed to store this digital asset, was rebranded as Novi in order to avoid confusion with Libra.

Confusion is the right word to use.

Why does this news matter?

It seems that the newfound Diem Association is trying to distance itself from missteps that have been made in the past — and prove to regulators that the organization has independence from Facebook.

This is seen as important because of how the social network has been embroiled in a series of privacy scandals, with concerns over how it handles user data.

But despite the new name, some central banks continue to worry about the ramifications of a private company launching its own digital currency — fearful that it could undermine fiat currencies and put financial stability at risk.

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The post Yet Another Relaunch for Libra as New Name Unveiled appeared first on CoinMarketCap Blog.