The Diem Association has intended to launch its pilot for a United States dollar-backed stablecoin later this year.
It has been reported that the association had already announced its plans for a limited launch of a US-dollar stablecoin in January, yet as the months have since passed, the currency is yet to see the light of day.
However, Diem’s stablecoin is a significantly scaled-back and rebranded version of Facebook’s initial vision for a global digital currency, native to its platform, which would be tied to a basket of multiple fiat currencies.
Aside from shedding the name Libra, commentators have pointed to the thoroughgoing changes to Diem’s evolving project in response to a striking pushback from global regulators and nation-states.
Ran Goldi, the CEO of First Digital Assets Group, said that Diem’s underlying technology has “changed dramatically over the past year and a half from a naive blockchain to a very sophisticated blockchain that you can see is trying to answer some of the questions that regulators had.”
Leak: Facebook-backed digital currency project Diem could launch its first stablecoin in 2021. The pilot is expected to focus on transactions between individual users. https://t.co/iplIrbwK6B — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 20, 2021
First Digital Assets Group is currently building infrastructure for merchants to facilitate Diem’s use as a means of payment.
In the meantime, Diem continues to await regulatory approval and the granting of a payments license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Organization.
Thus, Michael Gronager, the CEO of Chainalysis, said:
“I think it [Diem] will get past the gates this year. It would be a missed opportunity if not.”
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: CGTN