Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra changes names

The Facebook-backed cryptocurrency project Libra is changing its name to reflect adjustments made by its designers to “meet regulatory expectations,” according to a statement released Tuesday.

The Libra Association announced its new title is Diem Association, named for the Latin word for “day.” The digital currency will be called the Diem Dollar.

The group said the renaming represents a “new day” for the project and maintains the goal of creating a secure and straightforward platform to conduct quick and low-cost transactions worldwide.

The renaming is an effort by the company to gain a foothold in the emerging market and win over regulators and lawmakers, according to Bloomberg. 

When Libra was announced in the summer of 2019, legislators and regulators worried about users’ privacy, the potential for money laundering and concerns Facebook would take power away from centralized banks.

In October of last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told U.S. House lawmakers he would support delaying the incoming cryptocurrency “unless all U.S. regulators approve it.”

The following month, Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Lance Gooden (R-Texas) drafted a bill that would place Libra digital coin under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would subject the cryptocurrency to a rigorous regulatory framework.

Facebook gave over control of the project to a 21-member team tasked with overseeing the cryptocurrency’s launch.

Now, the new Diem Association plans to take a slow and more focused approach to issue a stablecoin — a digital currency tethered to an outside asset — connected with the U.S. dollar.

The group also said it would cancel previous planning to transition to a “permissionless” blockchain, which would have allowed anyone to participate in verifying transactions, according to Bloomberg.