What Happened to Libra and What Is After Libra
Libra was a proposed global stablecoin project announced in June 2019 by Facebook, now Meta Platforms Inc., through its subsidiary Calibra. The initiative faced immediate regulatory pushback from the U.S. Congress, the European Central Bank, and central banks in India and Japan over monetary sovereignty and anti-money laundering risks. In December 2020, the project was rebranded as Diem and moved its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, with the goal of launching a single-currency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar as reported by Forbes. On January 22, 2022, Diem Association announced it would wind down operations and sell its technology and intellectual property to Silvergate Bank, a California-chartered digital asset bank per SEC filing data.
After Libra, the stablecoin market shifted toward compliant, reserve-backed tokens issued by regulated entities. Circle Internet Financial launched USDC in 2018 and expanded its reserves under the oversight of Grant Thornton LLP, publishing monthly attestation reports. Tether Limited continued to issue USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, while adhering to periodic reserve transparency reports. As of early 2024, the combined market capitalization of the top three stablecoins exceeded $130 billion, with USDT and USDC accounting for over 90 percent of that total according to CoinDesk market data.
How Global Regulators Are Shaping What Comes After Libra
United States Stablecoin Framework
The U.S. Congress introduced multiple stablecoin bills in the 118th session, including the Stablecoin Innovation and Protection Act and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act. These proposals require issuers to hold 100 percent high-quality liquid reserves and obtain a federal or state charter. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued joint statements emphasizing that non-bank entities must meet the same prudential standards as banks before issuing dollar-pegged tokens per Federal Reserve press releases.
The European Union finalized the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, which entered into force in June 2023 and applies full reserve and redemption requirements to asset-referenced tokens and electronic money tokens. Under MiCA, issuers must maintain segregated reserves and publish daily liquidity reports. The UK Financial Conduct Authority published its policy statement PS23/16 in 2023, proposing a regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers used for payments that mirrors MiCA's reserve and redemption rules per FCA official documents.