Facebook’s controversial Libra project has been renamed Diem.

The head of the Diem association says this rebranding is part of efforts to appease regulators.

Diem plans to launch his dollar-backed stablecoin in January 2021.

Libra, the digital currency backed by Facebook, is undergoing a new phase of rebranding to alleviate lingering regulatory issues.

Since its announcement in mid-2019, regulators have spoken out against Libra, saying the project could upset global monetary policy control protocols.

Indeed, the emergence of Libra was likely the catalyst for more serious thinking about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

Libra seeks to please regulators with name change

According to Reuters , the rebranding of the Libra project takes place by changing its name to “Diem”, a Latin word meaning “day”. Thus, the Libra Association, based in Switzerland, will henceforth be known as the Diem Association.

Regarding the name change, Stuart Levy, CEO of the Diem Association, noted that this is part of the project’s efforts to simplify its goals for regulators. He added :

The original name was linked to a first iteration of the project which received a difficult reception from regulators. We have radically changed this proposition.

The Diem project has indeed undergone significant changes following a broad movement of rejection by regulators around the world. Starting from a “Facebook coin” backed by a host of fiat currencies, the Diem will instead issue individual types of stablecoins, each pegged to a specific national currency.

As previously reported by BeInCrypto, Diem plans to launch one of its coins (a token equivalent to a dollar) in January 2021 .

However, this plan is conditional on obtaining regulatory approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Diem has already applied for a payment authorization to FINMA in September 2019.

The name change of Diem is the second of these actions for the project. Last May, Facebook renamed its wallet, initially called Calibra, to Novi.

Regulators are strongly against private stablecoins

According to Mr. Levi, Diem is not severing ties with Facebook despite the name change. Facebook’s association with the project remains one of the major reasons for the regulatory backlash against this digital currency.

In a recent article, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) , doubled down on the perceived dangers of large technology-based payment projects. According to the ECB official, private stablecoins pose greater risks than Bitcoin (BTC) for financial stability.