It seems that Mark Zuckerberg has officially given up on his stablecoin Diem after over two years of efforts to launch it in the cryptocurrency space. Diem CEO Stuart Levey confirmed in his latest announcement that Meta is selling intellectual property and other assets related to Diem.
Diem Project to Slow Down Operations
Levey also noted that the Diem project would slow down over the upcoming weeks. However, Diem’s ideals will continue to exist even after the project is completely terminated.
According to the statement, Levey’s Silvergate Capital Corporation will purchase Diem assets for $128 million. Levey also stated that Silvergate is expected to incur $30 million in additional costs in 2022.
Levey plans to integrate Diem’s assets and technology with his Silvergate Exchange Network. This combination will help Silvergate Bank launch a next-gen global payment system that’s faster, easier to use, and more cost-effective than existing ones.
In addition, Levey identified a need for a US-backed stablecoin that’s highly scalable. This would help Levey’s companies move money without barriers.
Meta officially announced the first cryptocurrency project back in 2019. It was initially called Libra, and it involved support from the top global companies like Mastercard, PayPal, Visa, eBay, and others.
However, Libra faced huge regulatory issues. Financial authorities expressed significant concerns about the fact that tech giants are taking over too much financial power.
Still, Meta managed to roll out some of its services in the US. It tested the payment system within the WhatsApp messenger and Meta’s Novi wallet in 2021 before finally quitting the project.