Libra, the cryptocurrency developed by Facebook with the partnership between the Diem Association (former Libra Association), has got "rebranded" on Tuesday, 1 December. Its new name, 'Diem,' which means 'day' in Latin, reflects the "project's growing maturity and independence," said Stuart Levey, the CEO of Diem Association.
In the Singapore FinTech Festival held from Monday 7 December to Friday 11 December, David Marcus, the head of Facebook Financial, said both the cryptocurrency Diem and its wallet Novi are expected to be launched by 2021, early as January.
Diem is mainly being developed to allow people to transfer money globally as easily as sending a photo or text. Although it's known to resemble somewhat of a cryptocurrency, it's different from general cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which are known for their volatile price swings due to their decentralized aspect. Diem will not be mined; instead, its quantity will be fixed like fiat currencies to maintain a stable value.
Concerns are majorly rising among financial institutions, claiming that due to Facebook's high influential abilities, Diem will lead the competition with sovereign currencies such as the US Dollar (USD) and the Euro (EUR), affecting financial stability. Facebook had hardly addressed concerns regarding how it would protect the user's information with Diem when it initially released news about their planning of Diem.
David Marcus said the currency would not "threaten the sovereignty of nations when it comes to money." And as for privacy, Dante Disparte of the Diem Association mentioned that the organization is committed to protecting people's data.
Diem created some institutions that would revisit the idea of digital currency. China has already begun some real-world trials of a digital yuan. Overall, Marcus said Diem should be given the "benefit of the doubt" by regulators, declaring he's not asking for "immediate trust," but "asking for at least to have the benefit of the doubt." The Diem Association is currently awaiting approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, as the organization is based in Switzerland.
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