In this March 29, 2018, file photo is the Facebook logo on screens at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York's Times Square. A once-ambitious Facebook-backed digital currency project — formerly known as Libra, now called Diem — is shifting operations from Switzerland to the U.S. and said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar later in 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By Barbara Ortutay
A once-ambitious Facebook-backed digital currency project — formerly known as Libra, now called Diem — is shifting operations from Switzerland to the U.S. and said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar later this year.
As part of the move, Diem said it is also withdrawing its application for a payment system license from the Swiss Financial Markets Authority, which it has not been able to secure thus far.
The Diem Association, which includes Facebook and 25 other companies, said Wednesday has it entered a partnership with Silvergate Capital Corp. to issue a “stablecoin” backed by the U.S. dollar. A stablecoin is a digital currency backed by real-world assets such as national currencies or other commodities.
As the name implies, stablecoins are designed to not fluctuate wildly in value. That's in sharp contrast to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, whose value is not tied to a real-world currency and whose price has ranged between roughly $9,000 and $63,000 over the past year.
Facebook announced the Libra project in 2019, at the time envisioning it as a stablecoin based on a basket of national currencies. Since then, the effort has been scaled back considerably amid regulatory and commercial backlash. It underwent a name change in December 2020.
Wednesday's announcement represents a further scaling back as Diem shifts focus to the U.S. from its original ambitions to become a global currency for the unbanked around the world.
The government will require heavy trucks and buses to include automatic emergency braking equipment within five years, the federal traffic safety agency said Thursday, estimating it will prevent nearly 20,000 crashes save at least 155 lives a year.
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has sent warning letters to dozens of retailers selling fruit- and candy-flavored disposable e-cigarettes, including the current best-selling brand, Elf Bar.
Whether your credit card has declined or if you had difficulty splitting a bill at an outing, those awkward financial moments can get the best of us. Bobbi Robell, founder of Financial Wellness Strategies and author of "Launching Financial Grownups," joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to handle those tense situations.
With inflation in the United States still excessive, most Federal Reserve officials expect to raise interest rates further this year, Chair Jerome Powell told a House committee Wednesday.
For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation's restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.
Amazon was sued Wednesday by Federal Trade Commission for what it called a years-long effort to enroll consumers without consent into its Prime program and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.
