David Marcus, the former head of Facebook’s blockchain project Libra, recently shared how political opposition led to the ambitious initiative’s downfall. In a detailed post on X, Marcus called the project’s failure “100% a political kill,” pointing to actions by government officials that effectively stopped it. ‘A Political Kill’ Libra, later rebranded as Diem, was...Read More
Bakkt, the New York-based digital assets platform, has joined LightSpark as one of the first partners in a bid to offer Universal Money Address (UMA) for KYC-verified transactions on top of the Lightning Network for B2B clients. LightSpark is headed by CEO David Marcus, who was previously in charge of Meta’s ambitious Diem project that...Read More
The European Central Bank unveiled a discussion paper this week on the pros, cons, and economics of implementing central bank digital currency (CBDC). It suggested that CBDCs could help stave off dominance from BigTech firms in the payments market due to “network externalities” surrounding the use of a medium of exchange. Ultimately, the paper posits...Read More
The Novi digital wallet will be shut down on September 1, announced the company behind the project – Meta (formerly Facebook). This comes after years of regulatory scrutiny and unsuccessful launch attempts. The initial idea, started in June 2019, saw several company executives setting up a digital wallet (called Libra at the time) that wanted...Read More
Meta (formerly Facebook) threw in the towel on its grand plans to create a digital currency last year. Earlier in 2022, though, it sold the remaining assets to Silvergate Capital for $182 million. The team behind the original Diem project announced they were working on a new blockchain called Aptos in late February. On March...Read More
The brains behind Meta’s former Diem project have unveiled plans to launch the blockchain network as a separate protocol with support for other web3 solutions. Also, the announcement includes a name change to Aptos. Former Diem Developers to Relaunch Protocol Some members of the now-defunct Diem blockchain project have teamed up and announced plans to...Read More
Throughout its relatively brief history, Facebook’s digital asset project Diem (known initially as Libra) managed to capture the attention of the cryptocurrency community and, perhaps more importantly, global regulators. Over the years, it changed its concept, mission, and core idea several times, while watchdogs claimed it works against financial sovereignty and monetary stability. Additionally, there...Read More
Meta (formerly Facebook) started the development of its own stablecoin Libra in 2019. Facing public backlash, it tried rebranding it to Libra. Now, Zuckerberg’s company finally gave up, selling Diem’s intellectual property to an investment bank. The former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, shared his views on the failed project with Michael Saylor, the man in...Read More
Speaking at a CNBC program, Silvergate Capital CEO Alan Lane noted on Monday that the organization will launch a stablecoin later this year. Silvergate Stablecoin Silvergate CEO Alan Lane’s revelation that his company is planning to launch a stablecoin through its banking subsidiary Silvergate Bank came during his interview on CNBC’s “Mad Money” program hosted...Read More
The Diem Association – a cryptocurrency initiative backed by Meta – is reportedly considering the sale of its assets to return capital to its investors. The project is also in discussions with investment bankers about how best to sell its intellectual property and help the developers find new places to work. Diem Might Sell Its...Read More
Meta Platform’s (formerly Facebook) endeavors in the digital asset space may have been mired in controversy from the very start, but that has not deterred its efforts to explore new ways for users to utilize its cryptocurrency wallet, Novi. WhatsApp, the social media giant’s messenger subsidiary, has launched pilot crypto payments in the US with...Read More
David Marcus– board member of the Diem Association and head of digital wallet Novi– revealed in a recent blog post that the Diem payment system had been licensed in nearly every state. Diem as a Global Payment System Marcus happened to reveal the news in the middle of a recent Medium post titled Good stablecoins,...Read More
The Diem Association announced a strategic partnership with the crypto-friendly US bank – Silvergate Bank. Consequently, both parties plan to launch a stablecoin pegged to the American dollar. Additionally, the Association will relocate from Switzerland to the United States. A New Home for Diem The blockchain-based payment system Diem, launched by the social media behemoth...Read More
