Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta in Talks to Sell Assets in Crypto Project Diem: Report

Meta, formerly Facebook, is reportedly in talks with investment bankers to sell its assets in the cryptocurrency project Diem, formerly Libra. The diem USD stablecoin was supposed to be issued by Silvergate Bank but it failed to get regulatory approval.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, formerly Facebook, is trying to sell its assets in the cryptocurrency project Diem, formerly Libra, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Meta owns about a third of the venture; the rest is owned by other members of the Diem Association, one of the people said.

The Diem Association is considering a sale of its assets as a way to return capital to its investor members, the people explained. They added that Diem is in discussions with investment bankers about selling its intellectual property and finding a new home for the project engineers.

The association announced a partnership with Silvergate Bank in May last year for the bank to become the exclusive issuer of the Diem USD stablecoin.

However, the people noted that the bank’s regulator told Silvergate it was uneasy with the Diem launch plan and could not assure the bank that it would allow that activity.

Facebook first unveiled the Libra crypto project in June 2019. Since then, it has faced relentless scrutiny from regulators worldwide, causing some partners to abandon the project, including Visa, Mastercard, and Paypal.

Libra later changed its name to Diem. David Marcus, who headed the company’s Diem efforts, resigned at the end of 2021.

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