Facebook, which has been spearheading a global digital currency initiative called Diem – formerly known as Libra – is moving its operations from Switzerland to the U.S. in an effort to focus efforts on a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin.

Why should we care?
This marks the latest turn in Facebook’s bumpy road with its global digital currency project. The company initially got pushback from global regulators concerned with compliance issues and possible effects on monetary stability, and major corporate backers, including PayPal and Mastercard, pulled out. Facebook is withdrawing its application to the Swiss Financial Markets Authority (FINMA) for a payments system license. Instead, the company will be partnering with La Jolla, California-based Silvergate Bank, which will act as the exclusive issuer of the Diem USD stablecoin. Diem will be a blockchain-based payment system that will make payments faster and cheaper, and will bring “the benefits of the financial system to more people around the world,” Stuart Levey, chief executive officer of Diem, said. The project thus moves “fully within the U.S. regulatory perimeter,” according to Levey, but the company was light on the specifics of real-world use cases, and did not elaborate on how Diem’s quest to empower “people around the world” with financial inclusion will square up with its newfound U.S. focus.