It appears that Facebook is moving away from its initial Libra stablecoin plan, as the social media giant is now planning to rename the digital asset. However, it seems that its efforts have run into a bit of a snag after a plan to change the name of its stablecoin to ‘Diem’. The company has received threats over a potential lawsuit relating to naming rights. Earlier this week, Sifted, a news source focused on startups, reported that a London-based Fintech company called Diem could sue Facebook regarding the social media firm’s proposed new name for its digital asset. The co-founder of Diem, Chris Adelsback spoke to the news source and explained that he had discussed the matter with his legal advisers, who had informed him to move forward with the lawsuit.
Adelsback said that even though the prospect of initiating a legal battle with Facebook was intimidating, he was aware that he had to protect his firm. Therefore, a lawsuit over the use of the firm’s name is not completely out of question. Earlier this month, the Diem Association had been announced by Facebook, which is a rebranding from the initial Libra campaign. According to reports, the company is reportedly interested in shaking off some of the negative perception that has been established about Libra, since the asset was announced in June 2019.
The new name will apparently be a new beginning for the social media giant, with a number of changes being made to the structure of the asset. The company is hoping these will help in overcoming regulatory hurdles and eventually launch a workable stablecoin. Now, Facebook just might be hit with a possible lawsuit, with the London-based company, Diem being founded in October. Diem offers a financial services app that comes with a debit card and can be used by people for selling possessions online. For now, the company’s leaders appear to be in the consideration phase.
However, it should be noted that Facebook is not just considering a change in name to be the only change in its initial Libra stablecoin. It was reported by the Financial Times late last month that the company was gearing up to launch its digital asset in 2021. But, rather than pegging the stablecoin to other major cryptocurrencies as planned before, the company had opted for pegging it against the dollar alone. The news source said that Facebook and the potential Diem Association also plan on adding a number of other fiat currencies that will back the value of the asset in the future.
As of now, they are only going with the dollar. While the exact date is still not known, as most of it depends on when regulatory approval will be given by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The regulator announced that they had started the licensing process for the company back in April, but it has not provided an update. The agency’s spokespeople have also not provided any insight into the licensing process. Even with rebranding, it is still unknown whether the project will be approved or not.
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