02299nas a2200337   4500008004100000022001400041245010300055210006900158260004200227300001000269490000700279520132100286653001201607653001501619653001801634653002101652653000901673653002101682653002101703653003401724653001301758653002001771653002401791653002301815653001001838653002101848653001701869100002001886700002501906856003001931       2020                        eng d  a1927-032100aFacebook’s Digital Currency Venture “Diem”:  the new Frontier ... or a Galaxy far, far away?0 aFacebook s Digital Currency Venture Diem the new Frontier or a G  aOttawabTalent First Networkc12/2020  a19-300 v103 aThis article focuses on Facebook's new digital currency, initially called "Libra" and renamed in December 2020 "Diem", that has been designed and proposed by the Diem Association (formerly the Libra Association). It briefly reflects on the historical meaning of money and currency, as well as "local currencies" viewed as precursors to the new "digital currencies" or "cryptocurrencies". The paper presents a general overview of the Diem project, particularly from the perspective of financial theory and practise. It looks specifically into Diem's business model and analyzes the project's planned and potential revenue streams, according to official documents published by the Diem Association. The research identifies potential obstacles and hurdles this digital currency would (since it has not happened yet) face on launch day and assesses whether the project is feasible in its current form. In the authors' view, although some early concerns were addressed in the Diem White Paper 2.0, the Diem project is only questionably ready for commercial launch in its current state. Speaking directly to the financial aspects of the Diem Association's project, the current regulatory hurdles and institutional pressures seem difficult to bypass without making some additional noticeable and meaningful changes to Diem.10aBitcoin10ablockchain10acrypto assets10acryptocurrencies10aDiem10aDiem Association10adigital currency10adistributed ledger technology10aFacebook10afiat currencies10afinancial inclusion10aFinancial industry10aLibra10alocal currencies10atokenization1 aRrustemi, Jahja1 aTuchschmid, Nils, S.  utimreview.ca/article/140702550nas a2200385   4500008004100000022001400041245012500055210006900180260004200249300001000291490000700301520145900308653001201767653001501779653001701794653001801811653002101829653003401850653002801884653001301912653002301925653001201948653000901960653000801969653001801977653001401995653000802009653001902017653001602036653001702052653002002069100002002089700002502109856003002134       2020                        eng d  a1927-032100aFundraising Campaigns in a Digital Economy: Lessons from a Swiss Synthetic Diamond Venture's Initial Coin Offering (ICO)0 aFundraising Campaigns in a Digital Economy Lessons from a Swiss   aOttawabTalent First Networkc06/2020  a53-630 v103 aAs economies digitalize and many local businesses gradually internationalize, crowdfunding platforms have offered a new way for ventures to raise capital. Relying on distributed ledger technology (DLT, blockchain), the method of "tokenization" now seems to be the next way for digital economics to be actualised in practise. Digitalizing some of the production and selling processes through crypto-tokenization technology has brought with it new perspectives and opportunities. Any thorough consideration of the logic of "distributed systems" applied to economics is bound to see that it potentially brings considerable disruptions and significant changes in how companies get access to funding. Cryptocurrencies, and subsequently "tokens" initially issued from "initial coin offerings" (ICOs) have answered an obvious need for efficient, borderless, and secure flows of capital. This article first summarizes what early academic research tells us about ICOs based on DLTs and their factors of success. We then use the case of LakeDiamond, a Swiss venture in the business of growing and polishing synthetic diamonds, to present and contextualize the process of holding an ICO, which ultimately did not succeed. In the final section, we present two fund raising models that have recently gained traction and popularity, namely "security token offerings" (STOs) and "initial exchange offerings" (IEOs), and highlight their main advantages compared to ICOs.10aBitcoin10ablockchain10acrowdfunding10acrypto assets10acryptocurrencies10adistributed ledger technology10aentrepreneurial finance10aEthereum10aFinancial industry10aFinTech10aICOs10aIEO10amoral hazard.10asignaling10aSTO10atoken offering10atoken sales10atokenization10aventure capital1 aRrustemi, Jahja1 aTuchschmid, Nils, S.  utimreview.ca/article/1368