Facebook’s Libra stablecoin created quite a stir back in 2019 when it was first announced as it tried to wade through treacherous regulatory waters for more than a year after the initial reveal. This culminated in a second revised whitepaper for the unifying global stablecoin and significant rebranding efforts, where the consortium of companies behind Libra was renamed Diem early last month. Several weeks later, Diem’s blockchain testnet logged in a new high of 52 million transactions, according to data shown by Diem’s explorer.
Diem Coins, tokens that are pegged 1:1 with existing fiat currencies such as the US Dollar, are expected to be rolled out this year, beginning with a digital USD version. These coins are to be run on Diem’s blockchain network, where transactions can be carried out and viewed in a secure, scalable and reliable manner.
It was announced that Facebook was looking to release its very first stablecoin and Novi digital wallet this year, following a delay of more than a year. The firm is hoping that regulators will greenlight the launch and give Facebook the “benefit of the doubt” rather than hindering development at every given opportunity.
Testnets are typically launched so the community can experience the blockchain network functions on a large scale to highlight technical bugs and issues before the mainnet is officially rolled out. Currently, the network is working at a throughput of 3 transactions per second, but this is still relatively little compared to the Ethereum network for example, which can process 15 transactions per second.
