From Libra to Diem: Association’s New Clothes for ‘Appropriate Autonomy’

The Facebook-backed Libra Association has announced the change of its name to the Diem Association – a move which, along with new hires, the association claims will grant the project more “autonomy.”

In an emailed press release, the organization wrote,

“The Libra Association announces the adoption of a new name and the recruitment of key executives, reinforcing its organizational independence as it progresses toward regulatory approval for launch.”

The new name is Diem (the Latin for “day”), which the association says “denotes a new day for the project” and “signals the project’s growing maturity and independence.”

Stuart Levey, the Diem Association CEO, was quoted as saying that the body is committed to providing “a simple platform for fintech innovation to thrive” and in a way that “promotes financial inclusion.”

But the association emphasized that it would proceed with its launch only upon receiving regulatory approval, including a payment systems license for its operational subsidiary from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

The association added,

“The licensing process is ongoing and the operational subsidiary of the association is in active and productive dialogue with FINMA.”

Working to gain the regulatory approval and progress toward launch, the body wrote, Diem formed a group of executives that will lead the Association and Diem Networks, the regulated payment system operatory subsidiary. This group and the Executive Committee of Diem Networks being in place alongside existing employees “is a critical step for Diem to operate with appropriate autonomy,” added Levey.

Last week, Cryptonews.com reported that the association said they were preparing to launch as a single coin backed 1:1 to USD reserves as early as January, 2021.

This is yet another step the association has taken to apparently distance itself from its troubled past, having been the subject of scrutiny from by various regulatory bodies since Libra’s unveiling in June 2019 – over its basket of currencies, the control the association would have over it, the possible destabilization of monetary policy, as well Libra’s connection to Facebook, among other things.

That record has included two hearings before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in summer 2019, among others.

Since then, Libra, now Diem, has apparently been trying to ‘divorce’ itself from Facebook and any potentially negative associations previous regulatory troubles may have produced. Soon after regulatory hurdles began popping up, and a number of original member firms left, Diem gradually started making alterations to its original plans in an apparent attempt to get regulators onside.

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