Meta's stablecoin project Diem, initially called Libra, is shutting down.
Related: Mark Zuckerberg will testify in the US Congress about Libra
According to a report by Wall Street Journal, a person familiar with the subject said that the Diem Association is selling the technology to California-based bank Silvergate Capital for $200 M.Silvergate Capital agreed to collaborate with Diem to release the dollar-backed stablecoin last year. However, Fed officials told the bank that the plan could remain unapproved. Not having an allowance by the regulator meant that the project could be cracked down in the case of release.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Diem considered selling its assets and returning funds to investors.
Meta started to work on the crypto project in 2019 when it was still called Facebook. The project raised concerns of the Federal Reserve. Mark Zuckerberg even testified to Congress, saying that the aim of the stablecoin was to make transactions easier for people.
As the scrutiny started, many companies that cooperated with Facebook, left the initiative. Afterwards, Libra was rebranded to Diem. In November 2021, the founder of the project, David Marcus announced resigning from Meta.