The Libra Association has changed its name to the Diem Association to reinforce “its organisational independence” as the cryptocurrency could launch as early as January.
The project is mostly associated with Facebook, which took a lead of it when it first announced Libra in 2019. Although, the association has been adamant that Facebook is only one of the 27 members of the associations. Speaking of name-changes, Facebook rechristened its digital Libra wallet Calibra to Novi in May this year.
Since that initial announcement in the summer of 2019, Diem, ne Libra, has endured intense regulatory scrutiny around the world.
In response to that, the association is seemingly scaling down its initial ambition to offer a smattering of one-for-one Diem-to-other-currencies conversions and will, at least at the launch, only offer a one-for-one dollar version.
The exact date of the launch of Libra is dependent on the approval of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The regulator received an application from the Geneva-based Libra Association for a payment system licence in May this year.
“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,” said Stuart Levey, CEO at the Diem Association.
“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 also announced that it had hired more people to lead the company. Those executives included Dahlia Malkhi as the association’s new CTO, Christy Clark as chief of staff, Steve Bunnell as chief legal officer, and Kiran Raj as wxecutive vice president for growth and innovation and deputy general counsel.
Additionally, Diem Networks has recently announced the appointment of James Emmett as managing director, Sterling Daines, as chief compliance officer, Ian Jenkins as chief financial and risk officer, and Saumya Bhavsar as general counsel.
“This is a stellar group of executives and having the executive committee of Diem Networks in place alongside existing leaders and colleagues is a critical step for Diem to operate with appropriate autonomy,” said Levey.
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