Facebook's dream of creating its own global cryptocurrency officially comes to an end
CNN
In June 2019, after years of being under scrutiny for the impact its platforms have on society, Facebook unveiled one of its most ambitious projects yet: a cryptocurrency called Libra, which would be backed by an international consortium of companies. The effort had such lofty goals as providing financial services to the underbanked and extending the social media company's mission of connecting the world into the burgeoning market for digital money.
Libra was originally slated to launch within less than a year. Two and a half years later, the project — renamed Diem last year — has officially unraveled after various setbacks and regulatory pressure made it impossible to get off the ground.
On Monday, the Facebook-backed Diem Association announced it would dissolve and sell off the intellectual property and other assets related to running its planned cryptocurrency network to Silvergate Capital Corporation, in a deal valued at $182 million. The Diem Association expects to begin "winding down" in the coming weeks, according to the announcement.
