Key Takeaways:
- Facebook’s ‘Diem’ project finally comes to an abrupt end.
- Jack Dorsey criticises this step of Meta Platforms Inc.
- Meta talks with investment bankers to find new opportunities for Diem members.
The crypto industry has recently been facing unforeseeable failures and sudden lows. One remarkable failure is Meta platforms Inc.’s abrupt cryptocurrency project ‘Diem’. Block Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey has expressed his criticisms on this matter.
Facebook initiated a’ Diem’ project in mid-2019, initially named Libra, to launch its cryptocurrency. It aimed to compete with Bitcoin and other fiat currencies and therefore started the venture in association with several tech and finance companies. Zuckerberg wanted to create this for instant transactions between users and even across borders. However, soon Diem’s fate became unpredictable as it moved out of Meta’s control, but it was still in its shadow. Eventually, administrative lash outs made it impossible for the Diem association to launch its currency.
Referring to this incident, Jack Dorsey has said Meta didn’t use an open protocol or a standard like Bitcoin, which led to this unfortunate event. At the MicroStrategy World Conference, Dorsey also hinted towards Facebook’s biased motive to gain more users. He said, “They tried to create a currency that was owned by Facebook — probably for the right reasons, probably for noble reasons — but there were also some reasons that would indicate trying to get more and more people onto the Facebook ecosystem”.
This is a significant failure for Meta. Bloomberg has reported that “The Diem Association, a cryptocurrency initiative once known as Libra backed by Meta Platforms Inc., is weighing a sale of its assets as a way to return capital to its investor members, according to people familiar with the matter. Diem is in discussions with investment bankers about how best to sell its intellectual property and find a new home for the engineers who developed the technology, cashing out whatever value remains in its once-ambitious Diem coin venture, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.”
Therefore Dorsey said, “Hopefully they learned a lot, but I think there was a lot of wasted effort and time. He further added, “Those two years or three years, or however long it’s been, could have been spent making Bitcoin more accessible for more people around the world, which would also benefit their Messenger product and Instagram and WhatsApp.”
