The cryptocurrency initiative Meta-backed “Diem” is attempting to sell its assets, which appears to end Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s grand ambitions to create a stablecoin that would act as an internet currency.
Diem -formerly known as Libra- is Meta Platform’s cryptocurrency initiative. According to insider sources who have spoken to Bloomberg, is considering selling assets to return the capital to its investors.
The sources said that Diem is in talks with investment bankers to determine the best way to sell his intellectual property and cash in on any value the project has held.
It’s unclear how the company will be valued, and there’s no guarantee they’ll find a buyer. According to the source, about a third of the company is owned by Meta. The rest is owned by association members and partners, including Coinbase Global, Uber, and Shopify.
Diem has not ceased to arouse controversy in its short time of existence since its launch on June 18, 2019. Libra, as it was known at the time, was intended to be maintained by a Swiss-based consortium of companies called the “Libra Association.”
But nevertheless, news of the project’s launch triggered an immediate pushback from the US government and regulators around the world, citing concerns related to privacy and monetary sovereignty. Both Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Libra CEO David Marcus testified before the House Financial Services Committee.
In one of the hearings in July 2019, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio asked Marcus, “Do you really think people should trust Facebook with their hard-earned money?”
“If our country does not act, we could soon see the dominance of a digital currency controlled by others whose values differ radically from our own,” Marcus replied.
Deterred by regulatory scrutiny, many partners began to abandon the project, including Marcus himself.. That’s when he renamed himself Diem, hoping to shake off the massive regulatory panic that drowned out Libra’s initial announcement.
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