David Marcus, now a director of Facebook Financial or F2, testifying about Facebook's proposed digital currency formerly known as Libra, during a Senate Committee on Banking, House and Urban Affairs hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 16. 2019. The cryptocurrency was renamed Diem in December 2020.
Saul Loeb | AFP | fake images
David Marcus, CEO of Facebook's parent company Goalcryptocurrency efforts, announced Tuesday that he will be leaving the company at the end of the year.
Marcus's departure comes after the company unsuccessfully tried to launch a cryptocurrency that could be used to send money online to anyone in the world through Facebook products.
Marcus joined Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, in August 2014 after a two-year stint as president of PayPal. Marcus's initial role at Facebook was that of vice president in charge of the company's Messenger service. He left the Messenger division to launch Facebook's financial projects unit in May 2018.
That division Announced the company's Libra blockchain currency and Calibra digital wallet in June 2019, saying the hope was for both projects to go live in 2020.
Neither project saw the light of day in 2020 after Facebook faced a harsh backlash against its cryptocurrency ambitions from lawmakers and regulators around the world. The company finally launched its digital wallet product, renamed Novi, in October. But the digital currency, which is now called Diem and managed by an independent association, remains to be released to the public.
"While there is still a lot to do right after Novi's launch, and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for a change in our financial and payments systems, my entrepreneurial DNA has been pushing me for too many mornings in a row to keep going. ignoring him, "Marcus said in a tweet thread announcing his departure.
Marcus's departure follows that of other key executives who led Facebook's ill-fated blockchain efforts. Founding partner of the Morgan Beller project Leave the company in September 2020 to invest in venture capital. Kevin Weil, another of the founders of the project, left in march to join Planet, a San Francisco company with a fleet of satellites that take photos of the Earth once a day, providing users with images that demonstrate how the Earth changes.
"We would not have made such a big turnaround at Diem without his leadership, and I am grateful that he has made Meta a place where we make such big bets," wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. in a comment on Marcus' Facebook profile.
Executive Stephane Kasriel will replace Marcus as director of the company's Novi financial products division, Marcus said in his exit announcement.
"I can't wait to witness this from the outside," Marcus said. tweeted. "I know there is greatness ahead."
