Meta’s stablecoin project Diem reportedly shuts down after two years of inception

Meta has officially announced its Stablecoin project Diem after more than two years of efforts to launch the digital currency.

Meta’s stablecoin project Diem reportedly shuts down after two years of inception

Meta, formerly branded as Facebook, has officially declared the closure of its digital currency project Diem after years of major efforts to move forward with the initiative. 

Diem CEO Stuart Levey confirmed that Meta is selling intellectual property and other assets related to the Diem Stablecoin project to its Silvergate Capital Corporation. 

The Diem association and its will start winding down operations "over the week," Levey said, Diem's ideals will continue to thrive even after Meta officially terminated its involvement in the project. 

“We remain confident in the potential for a stable coin operating on a blockchain designed like Diem’s to deliver the benefits that motivated the Diem Association from the beginning. With today's sale, Silvergate will be well-placed to take this vision forward.”

According to Silvergate, the company will buy assets of Diem for the aggregate value of $182 million. "As part of integration the acquired assets into Silvergate's existing technology, Silvergate expects to incur approx $30 million of costs in 2022"

Silvergate Bank, a subsidiary of the silver gate and Meta's stable coin partner, will integrate its payment platform, the Silvergate Exchange Network, with Diem's assets. The new combination will help the bank launch a "next-generation global payment system that is faster, to use and more cost-effective than existing solutions."

Silvergate CEO Alan Lane said "We identified a need for a U.S dollar-backed stable coin that is regulated and highly scalable to further enable them to move money without barriers. it remains our intention to satisfy that need by launching a stable coin in 2022,"

Meta introduced its digital currency project back in 2019, originally called Libra and including a foundation of top global companies such as Mastercard, PayPal, Visa, eBay, and others, The project received massive global regulatory pushback, with financial authorities expressing major concerns over tech giants potentially talking over too much financial power. 

Meta attempted to roll out some of its services in the United States, with WhatsApp messenger testing payments with Meta's Novi wallet in December 2021. 

CEO Levey stated "The United States, a senior regulator informed that Diem was the best-designed Stablecoin project the U.S government had seen" 

While the Diem association is wrapping its Stable coin, some of its original members are moving forward with their stable coin plans in January, PayPal officially confirmed that it was "expanding a stable coin" that could be called PayPal Coin.

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