According to a press release posted today, the Libra Association is changing its name to the Diem Association. The shift is likely in the hopes of turning the page on Libra’s PR. Facebook initially announced its planned global stablecoin Libra in June of last year to immediate regulatory uproar that has swamped the project since. Facebook’s involvement has proved especially controversial. The new name makes use of the Latin word for “day,” best known in the saying, “Carpe diem.” The Association’s press release upon the announcement alludes obliquely to the need to change the narrative on the project: “Now transitioning …

Several experts from various European banks agreed that even a proof of concept for a digital euro is four or five years away. In a panel on Monday called "Upgrading Money to the Digital Age: Introducing Digital Euro," participants agreed that the current task was primarily one of getting everyone onboard with the specifics of a digital euro, putting any real implementation well into the future. Central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, have been an extremely popular topic of debate in recent years, but especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Austėja Šostakaitė of the European Central Bank said …

Editor’s note As many of you were certainly following in real time, a bull market gave way to a bloodbath yesterday, which happened to be Thanksgiving in the United States. Personally, I’ve never thought that Bitcoin’s (BTC) price was any sort of proof of its value proposition, but for many, its retreat yesterday certainly dashed many a planned gloat to family members more receptive to massive gains than concepts like censorship resistance. But obviously, volatility is part of the game with cryptocurrencies. One of the more prominent solutions to this problem has been the rise of stablecoins, especially following the …

The long-awaited digital currency Libra could finally see the light of day as soon as January 2021, according to a new report. Following more than a year of scrutiny from global financial regulators, Libra will launch in the form of a U.S. dollar-backed digital currency, the Financial Times reported on Nov. 27. Citing three people involved in the Libra project, the Financial Times wrote that the Libra Association plans will eventually add more fiat currencies to the basket of assets that back Libra’s value. Expected in January, the exact launch date is still not known and would depend on when …

The Libra Association, which manages Facebook’s quiet cryptocurrency project, has appointed a general counsel to oversee the development of its forthcoming payment system. In an official press release, the Libra Association Wednesday introduced Saumya Bhavsar as the new general counsel of Libra Networks, the entity charged with operating the blockchain-based payment system. Bhavsar comes with two decades of experience in the financial services industry serving in various legal, regulatory and compliance roles. She previously worked with United State and European banks and regulatory agencies, including Credit Suisse, the European Commission and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Jeffrey Emmett, managing …

Facebook’s proposal for its digital currency, Libra, was a wake-up call for international regulatory agencies, finance ministries and central bankers. All these actors recognized that the company’s reach across its three platforms had the potential to accelerate adoption of a global stablecoin to an unprecedented extent. In a new paper from the Bank of International Settlements, three analysts have proposed that the novelty of Libra and other proposed global stablecoins demand that regulators reimagine the possibilities for monitoring and supervising their issuance and circulation. Libra’s potential for rapid mass adoption across multiple jurisdictions would require authorities to develop dynamic and …

Cash use has lost a ton of ground to digital payments as the pandemic has changed the way people transact worldwide. Some experts have recently argued that central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, could solve the problem of leaving that payments data in the hands of major tech platforms. In a blog post published Monday morning, Federal Reserve of New York researcher Michael Lee and University of California Santa Barbara economics professor Rod Garratt expounded on a paper they released earlier this month. The authors point to tech firms' troubling use of consumer data, which has landed everyone from Visa …

Over the past 15 years or so, social media has gained tremendous traction. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have reached soaring heights as companies. Social media has its benefits, such as global connectivity and low barrier to entry. It also gives people a platform for expression. The sector has taken a dark turn in recent years, however, igniting aggression and spreading false information, while, at the same time, raising questions of censorship. Eric Yang, founder and executive director of Junto — a nonprofit decentralized social media startup — sees three main issues with the current landscape. The first of the three …

As numerous countries across the board navigate their feelings on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, Benoît Cœuré of the Bank for International Settlements thinks physical cash will retain its importance. Heading up the BIS’ innovation wing, Cœuré formerly held a position with the European Central Bank on its executive board. “In the euro area, unlike Sweden or China, demand for banknotes is still strong,” Cœuré said in an interview on Thursday. “Their role is declining as a means of payment, but they remain a means of savings.” He added: “No one wants to force consumers to choose their payment …

Tech-heavy stock market indices, including the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500, have begun to recover. Amazon posted high pandemic sales that led profits to climb threefold and reported a 37% spike in revenue. Facebook also surpassed Wall Street expectations, achieving $21.5 billion in revenue during the third quarter. Although the correlation between Bitcoin and U.S. stocks has declined in recent weeks, the probability that the rising risk-on market sentiment could buoy BTC remains high. As Kevin Svenson, a chartist at Kraken’s Cryptowatch, explained, the market direction between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 is the “same 80% of the time.” …

In a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Friday, the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, a veritable firing squad in what has become bipartisan hatred based on partisan reasons. But while Republicans and Democrats have different gripes with the platforms, all are clearly out for blood. Today’s hearing, theoretically, set out to focus on Section 230, a component of the Communications Decency Act that has historically served to protect online content hosts from the responsibilities that publishers take on. However, the actual questioning ended up being primarily political dunking. Many members commented on the speed …

Global digital payment giant PayPal might be moving into issuing its own cryptocurrency after officially entering the crypto industry, according to a major industry exec. Meltem Demirors, CSO at digital asset management firm CoinShares, says that she will not be surprised if PayPal issues its own token after the company broke the news of its soon-to-come support for crypto.. In an Oct. 21 interview with CNBC’s Fast Money, Demirors claimed that PayPal’s supporting crypto could eventually become a basis for launching its own, stating: “I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the next six to 12 months, we see PayPal launching …