Diem, Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, further reduced
https://www.swissinfo.ch/ita/diem–progetto-criptovaluta-di-facebook–ulteriormente-ridotto/46615668
The Diem group, at the helm of the cryptocurrency project launched by Facebook, moves its headquarters from Geneva (in the symbolic image) to the United States. KEYSTONE / SALVATORE DI NOLFI sda-ats
This content was published on May 13, 2021 – 10:42 am May 13, 2021 – 10:42 am
(Keystone-ATS)
The cryptocurrency project Diem, heir to the more ambitious Libra, launched by Facebook in 2019, is further reduced. It will have the United States as its market.
In Switzerland, the consequences are two: the withdrawal of the authorization request for a payment system in the Confederation and the transfer of the headquarters of Diem Networks S.à.r.l. from Geneva across the Atlantic.
This was indicated by two press releases, from the same Diem group and from the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), issued yesterday evening.
Diem Networks now plans, initially, to launch the payment system from the United States, given that the project will initially focus on the United States as an important target market and only provides for a stable coin (a cryptocurrency with a fixed price based on the blockchain technology) pegged to the dollar, indicate the two notes.
Collection required in Switzerland
Far from Facebook’s initial ambitions, the Diem Group has allied itself with a US bank, Silvergate, which will issue such cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, for now only financial services providers in the United States are involved in the project. Diem Networks has therefore decided to withdraw the authorization request in Switzerland, which is already at an advanced stage, indicates FINMA. The application, which originally provided for a stable coin pegged to a basket of currencies, was submitted in April last year by what was originally the Libra Association.
From Geneva to the USA
For the same reasons, the Diem group is also preparing to move its headquarters, currently in Geneva, to the other side of the Atlantic. “This transition is consistent with Diem’s initial US-centric strategy and reflects the association’s considerations for the evolution of cryptocurrency regulations” in the US, reads the Diem Networks note.
“We are committed to building a payment system that is safe for consumers and businesses, which makes payments faster and cheaper,” said Stuart Levey, executive director of the Diem Group, quoted in the release.
Strong opposition to Libra
This was precisely the ambition displayed by Facebook when it presented its digital currency project, Libra, in 2019.
The idea had raised strong opposition from many sides: central banks, regulators and political authorities, concerned in particular by the risks to the stability of the financial system, the fight against money laundering and the protection of personal data.
Several key partners in the Libra project, including US-based digital payment and internet money transfer services company PayPal and credit card issuers Visa and Mastercard, later withdrew from the project. The Libra Association then downsized its ambitions and renamed itself Diem Networks late last year. Among other things, the US company of private car transport through a mobile application Uber, the Swedish music streaming giant Spotify and the French telecom operator Iliad (parent company of Free).