Facebook’s cryptocurrency was renamed from Libra to Diem. The rebranding was announced on December 1, 2020, when the Libra Association became the Diem Association.
Facebook formally unveiled Libra in June 2019 as a proposed blockchain-based payment system and stablecoin. It was designed to be managed by an association of companies rather than by Facebook alone, although Facebook’s involvement made it the project’s public face.
The name change followed intense criticism from regulators and lawmakers, who raised concerns about monetary sovereignty, financial stability, privacy, consumer protection, and competition. The revised name was intended to signal a more independent and less Facebook-centered project; “diem” is Latin for “day.”
A common mix-up is Novi, which was the name of Facebook’s planned digital wallet, formerly called Calibra—not the cryptocurrency itself. Diem never achieved a full public launch. The Diem Association wound down in 2022 and sold its intellectual property and other assets to Silvergate Bank.