Libra/Diem In Hot Water Again Following Attempted Rebranding

Late last month, Libra announced its plans to launch early in 2021. Based in Geneva, Switzerland and made up of 27 members – chief among them being Facebook – the Libra Association plans to establish a far-reaching stablecoin ecosystem backed by big-league corporations, after attempting to negotiate with its detractors.

Last week, the Libra association announced its plans to rebrand as Diem. Stuart Levey – the CEO of the newly-rebranded Diem Association, stated that this was one of the company’s steps taken to ensure compliance with largely skeptical government entities.

“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.”

Chief among the detractors of the Geneva-based alliance for the new stablecoin is the European Union, spearheaded by the financial departments of the French and German governments, with Olaf Scholz – the German Finance Minister – calling the project a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.”

The French Finance Minister agrees, stating that the incredible reach of Facebook could cause quite a stir once mixed with the planned state of the association’s cryptocurrency.

“All these concerns around Libra are serious. So I want to say this with a lot of clarity: In these conditions, we cannot authorize the development of libra on European soil.”

Regulators Not The Only Parties Concerned

However, European governments are not the only ones bothered by the project.

A lawsuit reminiscent of the one that pit Australian platform PayID against Ripple, the association is being sued by a much smaller fintech company also known as Diem, who accuse the association of encroaching upon their intellectual property.

Diem – a platform described as “a digital pawnbroker of sorts” – was launched in October and garnered a following of about half a million followers.

Geri Cupi – the CEO of Diem – stated that if the association took their name, it could seriously stunt their growth.

Meanwhile Chris Adelbach – the co-founder of Diem and a well-known investor in fintechs operating on the European market – stated that although he was reticent to take on companies much larger, he has been advised to do so.

“It wouldn’t have taken that much effort for Facebook to find out if there’s another Diem in financial services […] They obviously took the view that ‘we can just crush them, we’re Facebook.’”

PayID’s grievances with Ripple Labs were solved by Ripple rebranding their service as ClearPay. It’s possible that this lawsuit will have a similar outcome.