Libra Association, the cryptocurrency group started by Facebook, announced on Tuesday that it has changed its name[1] in a bid to demonstrate "organisational independence" after facing regulatory backlash globally[2].
It will now be known as Diem Association instead, which means "day" in Latin, with its subsidiary Diem Networks to serve as the payment system operator. In making the name change, the organisation said its goal is still to build a safe, secure, and compliant payment 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," Diem Association CEO Stuart Levey said.
Diem's planned product has shrunk significantly in scope since it was first announced in June last year[3]. When the project was first announced, the association aimed for Libra, now called Diem Dollar, to be a cryptocurrency supported by a basket of government-issued fiat currencies and securities.
This has since changed however, with ArsTechnica reporting[4] that the association is now only planning to launch a single coin that is backed one-for-one by the US dollar.
The exact launch date of the coin could come as early as January but this would depend on when regulatory approval is provided by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the report said.
Since its inception, the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency project has faced worldwide scrutiny. Over the past year, the US House Committee on Financial Services has repeatedly expressed widespread mistrust of Facebook's cryptocurrency plan, saying the company's attempt at entering into financial services was troubling[5] and should be broken up[6].
Meanwhile, regulators from Albania, Australia, Canada, the EU, and the UK have