Meta's Cryptocurrency Leader Announces Departure
Meta's leader of cryptocurrency efforts says he will be leaving the firm at the end of the year to follow his "entrepreneurial DNA".
The leader of cryptocurrency efforts at Meta, David Marcus, announced Tuesday that he will leave his position at the end of the year.
His departure comes after the company, formerly known as Facebook, failed to launch a cryptocurrency project to transfer money online through Facebook products.
Initially called Libra, the project was later renamed Diem and is currently managed by an independent association and is still inaccessible to the public.
Marcus joined Meta in August 2014 after heading PayPal for two years. The entrepreneur was the vice president of Facebook's Messenger application before running Facebook's financial projects in 2018.
In a Twitter thread, Marcus said he remains "as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems.”
“My entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it,” he added.
While there’s still so much to do right on the heels of launching Novi — and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems — my entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it. (2/7)
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) November 30, 2021
While he did not talk about his upcoming plans, Marcus specified that former Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel will be replacing him at Meta.
I find comfort and confidence in knowing that they will continue to execute our important mission well under @skasriel’s leadership, and I can’t wait to witness this from the outside. I know there’s greatness ahead. (4/7)
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) November 30, 2021
For his part, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented on Marcus' announcement and thanked the resigning executive for his leadership during the time he spent in the tech firm.