Berliner Tageblatt - Facebook's crypto project Diem sold after pushback

Facebook's announcement in 2019 of plans to design a cryptocurrency and payment system raised immediate red flags for global finance officials, who expressed a barrage of criticism about the security and reliability of a private network.

Diem Networks' US CEO Stuart Levey said in a statement that the initiative made progress, but "it nevertheless became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead."

"Over the coming weeks, the Diem Association and its subsidiaries expect to begin the process of winding down," the association's statement said.

The technology was bought by Silvergate Capital Corporation in California that is a go-to for crypto projects, and which put the sale price at $182 million.

Silvergate bought development, deployment and operations infrastructure, as well as tools for running a blockchain-based payment network for payments as well as cross-border wire transfers.

- Crypto boom -

"As we undertook this effort, we actively sought feedback from governments and regulators around the world, and the project evolved substantially and improved as a result," the Diem association's statement said.

Pressed by regulators' concerns about a currency managed by a private company, the project was previously entrusted to an independent entity based in Geneva.

After the defection of several major partners such as PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, the organization scaled back its ambitions, before renaming itself Diem at the end of 2020.

The so-called stablecoin -- a type of digital money tied to other kinds of assets -- never launched.

"The combination of a stablecoin issuer or wallet provider and a commercial firm could lead to an excessive concentration of economic power," US regulators said in a 2021 report.

"These policy concerns are analogous to those traditionally associated with the mixing of banking and commerce, such as advantages in accessing credit or using data to market or restrict access to products," it added.

Facebook, which renamed itself Meta in October, has faced criticism on the dominant position it holds online, yet it's not the only powerful organization interested in crypto.

The European Central Bank in July formally launched a pilot project to create a "digital euro," in response to the growing popularity of electronic payments and the rise of cryptocurrencies.

Central banks are also responding to increased demand for digital payment options as cash use continues to decline, a trend fueled by the pandemic and the desire to avoid contact.

M.Ouellet--BTB