Morgan Beller joined Meta in 2017 to work on bitcoin and blockchain, and was initially the only individual working on the company’s blockchain program.
In May 2018, David A. Marcus, a vice president at Meta, moved from Facebook Messenger to a new blockchain branch. A few days later, the first reports of Facebook planning a cryptocurrency with Marcus in charge surfaced. More than 50 engineers were working on the project by February 2019. In May of this year, it was confirmed that Facebook intended to launch a cryptocurrency. It was known as “GlobalCoin” or “Facebook Coin” at the time.
Libra was the name given to the project when it was first disclosed on June 18, 2019. Morgan Beller, David Marcus, and Kevin Weil (Novi’s VP of Product) are named as the coin’s creators. The first release date was set for 2020.
Facebook confirmed on July 15, 2019, that the currency would not go live until all regulatory concerns have been addressed and Libra has received “necessary clearances.” During a meeting with key Senate Democratic leaders on September 18, 2019, Mark Zuckerberg stated that Libra would not be released anyplace in the world without first receiving approval from US regulators. Multiple corporations left Libra Association in October 2019: PayPal departed on October 4th, eBay, Mastercard, Stripe, Visa, and Mercado Pago left on October 11th, and Booking Holdings left on October 14th.
Libra will launch a slimmed-down plan in November 2020, according to a Financial Times article, with the cryptocurrency being a stablecoin backed by the US dollar rather than a multi-currency collection. The cryptocurrency will now be known as Diem, which is Latin for “day,” according to the newspaper. Libra became Diem in December 2020, and Libra Association became Diem Association. Diem Association has 27 members as of December 2020.
The Diem Association was rumored to be shutting down in January 2022, with Diem’s assets being sold to Silvergate Capital in California for an estimated $200 million. Facebook was also rumored to be planning to introduce the token in the United States, with Slivergate issuing it, despite the Federal Reserve and the US Department of Treasury opposing the initiative.
In This Article...
Are Libras dead?
I believe my interpretation of Libra has held up well over time. Libra, as intended, is no longer alive. Diem, its successor, is a completely distinct initiative, backed by a single currency (the US dollar) and issued in collaboration with a financial institution. Regardless, I believe this is one of the most important initiatives in the crypto industry’s history, not for what it was, but for what it left behind. Regulators were aware of and discussing cryptocurrencies long before Facebook dabbled with blockchain, but after the announcement of Libra, the regulatory response took on a decidedly more urgent tone.
Is Libra a failure?
Facebook’s grandiose cryptocurrency project, which was previously marketed as a new financial system that would alter how money is transferred around the world, has failed.
The Diem Association, which was established by Facebook in 2019 to control a new cryptocurrency called libra that the company will generate, is rumored to be closing down and selling its assets.
What is Libra now called?
Digital currencies that are tied to a fiat currency are known as stablecoins. Silvergate Bank, situated in California, will create the Diem USD stablecoin and manage the Diem USD reserve. Diem stated that a stablecoin pilot would be launched, but did not specify when.
The group stated, “We are committed to a payment system that is safe for consumers and companies, makes payments faster, and is less expensive.”
Diem’s decision to withdraw its application for a payment license was confirmed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority in a statement.
“Diem plans to deploy the payment system from the United States in the first phase because the project’s initial target market will be the United States,” it stated.
Libra was first announced by Facebook in June 2019, as part of a larger drive to move beyond social networking and into e-commerce and global payments. Libra, along with partners like as payment processors and credit card companies, would establish a digital token backed by a diverse range of currencies and short-term government debt, according to the statement.
Libra is expected to power transactions between customers and businesses all across the world, giving more people access to financial services, according to the social media behemoth.
However, politicians around the world were quick to oppose the idea, fearing that it would lose their authority over the financial system, facilitate crime, and compromise users’ privacy.
Libra and its partners abandoned plans to hold a basket of currencies and sovereign debt in favor of stablecoins guaranteed by major currencies in April 2020, and sought authorisation from the Swiss regulator.
Libra rebranded as Diem in December in a renewed attempt to get regulatory permission, with its scope narrowed even more to a single dollar-backed digital token.
Diem now has 26 members and a minority investor, including Facebook’s digital wallet Novi.
Did Facebook cancel Libra?
Facebook’s massive blockchain and digital payments strategy will no longer include the projected Libra coin. Learn more about Facebook’s crypto project’s history.
Why do Libra coins fail?
According to David Gerard, our guest on the latest New Money Review podcast, Facebook’s ‘Libra’ digital currency experiment combines incompetence and arrogance, and was certain to fail. During the podcast, he claims that the company believed it could simply establish a new worldwide digital currency based on a good idea.
Is Diem a Libra?
Since Facebook first proposed Diem as a global stablecoin in 2019, it has been toned back. As issues grew, the coin renamed, adopting the Diem moniker in December 2020.
Why is Libra renamed Diem?
Following the launch of the libra digital currency, policymakers around the world expressed fear that it might severely disrupt the financial system, risk money laundering, and compete with fiat currencies like as the US dollar.
As it seeks regulatory clearance for its launch, Diem said the new name, which is Latin for “day,” “signals the project’s rising maturity and independence.” Last month, the Financial Times claimed that it could debut in January, but only in a restricted format.
The Diem currency was created to make it easier for individuals and businesses to transmit money throughout the world in a safe manner. Diem will be backed by government currency, unlike bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which may be extremely volatile and speculative. As a result, some of the group’s coins may be used to represent the worth of a dollar or a Euro, for example.
Facebook’s digital wallet, which was previously known as Calibra, was renamed Novi earlier this year. Novi will let users to pay money to each other using an app, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Why did Libra change name?
Diem, the new name for the Libra cryptocurrency, was announced today in an effort to demonstrate the project’s “organizational independence” as it seeks regulatory approval for its launch. The initiative attracted a lot of backlash at first, partly because it came out of Facebook and partly because its grandiose goals looked to put established government-run banking systems in jeopardy. The Libra Association, the non-profit that oversees the project, will now be known as the Diem Association, and its currency will be known as the Diem Dollar, according to Bloomberg.
The scope of Diem, as it is now known, has reduced dramatically since it was first disclosed. Last year, major launch partners abruptly withdrew support due to the controversial nature of the project and the regulatory challenges it faced as a result of legislators’ concerns. Last year, members of Congress showed deep mistrust of Facebook as they questioned CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the project’s intentions during a hearing before the House Financial Service Committee.