David Marcus – head of the blockchain department at Facebook, now known as Meta – has stated he will be exiting his position and leaving the social media giant at the end of 2021.
David Marcus Is Taking a Different Path
Marcus is a former PayPal executive that joined forces with Facebook to release a new cryptocurrency that people could use to pay for goods and services. Known as Libra, the currency would be tied to a wallet system called Calibra, which would store assets and allow transactions to occur.
There’s just one problem: the wallet system has never gotten off the ground, and the company has tried and failed on multiple levels to get its crypto project up and running. Marcus has been with the firm since 2014, meaning he has been working with Facebook for roughly seven years.
It is unclear if Facebook potentially had crypto plans dating back to that time, though initially, Marcus was tasked with running the company’s Messenger service. He transitioned to the company’s financial projects three years ago in 2018.
One of the big problems with the crypto project – arguably – was the fact that executives couldn’t even narrow down what it was to be called. It was originally set to be called Libra, but eventually the asset was rebranded to Novi. The name was later changed to Diem in October of last year.
In a series of tweets announcing his leave from Facebook, Marcus stated the following:
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.
Responding to the news, CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that he was grateful for the time Marcus had devoted to the company and he couldn’t have gotten as far without him. He stated:
We wouldn’t have taken such a big swing at Diem without your leadership, and I’m grateful you’ve made Meta a place where we can make those big bets.
Who Will Take His Place?
Stephane Kasriel is the executive that will replace Marcus in his role, insinuating that despite the departure, Facebook is still looking to move forward on its crypto plans. Marcus believes that Kasriel will do an excellent job in the role, commenting:
I can’t wait to witness this from the outside. I know there’s greatness ahead.
Marcus is just one of many executives to have left Facebook over the past few years. September 2020 saw Morgan Beller leave the firm to begin a new career in venture capital. Last March also saw the departure of Kevin Weil to work with Planet, a satellite company based in San Francisco.
