Meta’s Stablecoin Project Diem Reportedly Looking to Sell Off All Assets

Diem, the ambitious stablecoin project launched by Meta – previously known as Facebook – is reportedly considering shuttering its business, Bloomberg reports, January 26, 2022.

A Mum End to Diem?

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is considering selling all of Diem’s assets and returning the capital to investors.

For the uninitiated, Diem burst into the crypto scene in 2019 as, at the time, Meta shared its plans to launch a stablecoin that is pegged to a basket of global currencies and time-tested assets.

Diem boasted of a wide array of influential members such as Uber, a16z, Temasek, Spotify, Coinbase, and Ribbit Capital. However, it remains unknown whether the entities invested in the project too.

Per sources close to the matter, Diem is already in talks with several investment bankers to determine the best course of action regarding its intellectual properties. In addition, the project is working toward getting new employment opportunities for its employees.

However, there’s no guarantee that Diem will find an interested buyer.

Marred with Regulatory Hurdles

Diem, previously known as Libra underwent major rebranding in December 2020 in an attempt to appease the global regulators. However, the attempt fell flat as regulatory issues kept on piling for the Meta-owned project.

Diem aimed to create a stablecoin that would be central to the expanding Meta ecosystem across all its services and applications.

However, soon after its launch in 2019 along with the unveil of a whitepaper, Diem faced stiff regulatory hurdles that made things a lot more difficult for the ambitious project.

For instance, in August 2019, data protection agencies from around the world expressed their concerns over the safety of private data held with Diem.

Similarly, in September 2019, the French Finance Minister displayed strong objection to the Diem project, going as far as saying that the project would not be given a chance to develop on the European soil.

Over time, Diem’s vision changed from launching a stablecoin backed by a basket of global fiat currencies to launching individual coins backed by a single currency.

In recent news, Diem’s co-founder and Meta’s crypto lead David Marcus resigned from the social media company in November 2021.