After a big media coverage for its launch in 2019, and may rebrands, political interventions and staff departures, Facebook’s owner, Meta group decided to put an end to the backing of its Diem cryptocurrency
Diem group’s CEO Stuart Levey announced in a open letter in diem.com that the group is going to sell its intellectual property and other assets related to the running of the Diem Payment Network to Silvergate Capital Corporation, which a holding company for Silvergate Bank. The bank is a provider of financial infrastructure solutions and services.
Facebook launch of Libra in 2019, where did it started? and what happened?
In 2019 Facebook decided to enter the world of cryptocurrency by creating “Libra” cryptocurrency, and therefore introducing a new methods of payment outside traditional banking systems, but it faced difficulty when US politicians opposed the move. and to calm oppositions and fears down, Facebook distant itself from the political tensions around the project by formation of Libra Association and based its HQ in Switzerland, but this strategy also failed after major payment services players Visa, PayPal, Stripe and Mastercard pulled out in what was looked like panic because libra wanted the benefits of engaging financial activities without the responsibility of being regulated as financial services company, which means ion turn that Mastercard, Visa, and the rest will take the blame for any ill-use of Libra.
The Libra Association tried to get license in Switzerland and changed its name to Diem in 2020 and relocated back to USA . these efforts seems to be in vain from the start, because people feared that Facebook, as controversial Tech giant, will be more powerful. In addition, members from the Libra Association started to leave weeks after the group has been announced.
Project went under
Levey concluded that the talks with legislators failed at the end and “best way to move forward is to sell diem group assets”, and he pointed out that the companies related to dime will start to dissociate in the coming weeks.
Many tech spectators including us expected that Libra will go far away in crypto-domination, but legislation bodies had different views.
Silvergate said that it had paid $182 million for Diem’s intellectual property and other assets. Selling of Diem was the ultimate of years of struggles in which the project lost most of its leaders, David Marcus, the former executive and creator of Libra left last year, tweeted lamenting the work on the project.
