Facebook-led Crypto Project Diem to Be Sold Off for $200M: Report

Silvergate will reportedly pick up the tab for the Facebook-led Diem association’s off loading of its crypto tech

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The Diem Association is reportedly selling off its crypto infrastructure for a sum of $200M
  • A holding company for crypto-focused bank Silvergate has picked up the ticket

Facebook’s brief foray into crypto is reportedly coming to a close.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, the Facebook-led Diem Association’s blockchain and crypto infrastructure is being sold off to a Californian bank for around $200 million.

Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms Inc., did not immediately respond to Blockworks’ request for comment.

The bank, Silvergate Capital Corp., previously reached a deal with Diem to issue the association’s stablecoin, but those efforts were blocked by the Federal Reserve, according to Bloomberg reporting.

Silvergate Capital is a holding company for its crypto-focused bank which provides financial infrastructure and services to digital asset participants.

The move is viewed as a means to return capital to its investor members. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. owns around a third of the association, according to the reports. The other two-thirds belong to a consortium of the association’s members.

From the outset, the Diem project formerly known as Libra was derided and railed against over its plans to introduce a stablecoin — a crypto asset generally pegged to a commodity or fiat currency — to billions of users worldwide.

Meta unveiled the ambitious project back in June 2019, much to the chagrin of US regulators and politicians. The association was formed alongside payments giants PayPal, Stripe and Visa and also included a long list of some of the world’s largest companies.

Concerns were raised in Washington a month later when Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, had to explain to congress how the initiative wouldn’t undermine global finance. Following funding cuts to the project, as well as the Meta-owned Novi crypto wallet and regulatory pressure, development stalled.

Meanwhile, David Marcus, who oversaw Libra from the beginning as well as the development of Novi, quit Facebook in December citing a need to pursue his own personal projects.

[stock_market_widget type=”accordion” template=”chart” color=”#5679FF” assets=”FB” start_expanded=”false” display_currency_symbol=”true” api=”yf” chart_range=”1mo” chart_interval=”1d”]


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).jpg

Research

With $13B in tokenized assets, strong institutional partnerships, and a clear first-mover advantage in the RWA space. The platform's methodical approach to regulatory compliance, coupled with its hybrid public-private architecture, positions it uniquely to capture significant market share in the emerging tokenization landscape. While current fee generation primarily stems from metadata transactions, the planned launch of Figure Markets, major exchange listings, and comprehensive market-making initiatives in 2025 could serve as powerful catalysts for growth.

article-image

Perena is built on the premise that as stablecoins proliferate, liquidity could fragment, and stablecoins aren’t useful if they aren’t liquid

article-image

From hackathons to trading tools and DAO governance, AI agents are redefining how we build and innovate

article-image

CME’s large bitcoin contracts are so big that investors are turning to micro bitcoin contracts

article-image

The third-largest stablecoin is going multichain for the first time in its seven-year history

article-image

Nano Labs’ news release notes confidence in bitcoin being “a reliable store of value amidst its rising global adoption”

article-image

Several big companies report third quarter earnings this week, likely moving markets