Facebook Crypto Executive David Marcus Announces Departure, FB Stock Slightly Up

When Marcus leaves Facebook, former CEO at Upwork, Stephane Kasriel, will take over the position. Also, Kasriel previously worked as the head of product for Novi. 

A top crypto executive at Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) David Marcus is leaving the company. Formerly serving in the Messenger unit, Marcus currently heads the crypto unit, Novi. The executive announced his departure from Facebook in a Twitter thread posted on the 30th of November. In his Tuesday announcement, the executive said he would be leaving Facebook before the end of the year. The departure came following the company’s attempt to launch crypto, which users can use to send money online across the globe through Facebook products.

David Marcus to Exit Facebook as Crypto Executive

Marcus joined Facebook in 2014, and his departure will mark another major exit from the company. In September, another long-term Facebook executive, Mike Schroepfer, announced that he would be stepping down from his role in the crypto unit after 13 years of service at the company. Announcing his departure as a Facebook executive, Marcus wrote:

“While there’s still much to do right on the heel 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 mornings in a row to continue ignoring it.”

When Marcus leaves Facebook, former CEO at Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK), Stephane Kasriel, will take over the position. Also, Kasriel previously worked as the head of product for Novi.

Marcus joined Meta, formerly referred to as Facebook, in August 2014 following being a president at PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) for two years. Initially, the crypto executive was vice president of the Facebook Messenger’s service. He later left the Messenger unit to start up the company’s financial products unit in the first half of 2018. A year after, the Messenger unit announced the Libra blockchain currency and the Calibra digital wallet in June. At the time of the announcement in June 2019, the division said that both the Libra blockchain currency and the Calibra digital wallet would go live in 2020.

However, none of the projects were successfully launched as anticipated. This came after Facebook saw some setbacks as regulators and lawmakers worldwide countered the crypto ambitions. Eventually, Facebook launched its digital wallet, Novi, in October. Till now, the digital currency, renamed Diem and now managed by an independent association, is yet to be publicly released.

Mark Zuckerberg Says Farewell as Marcus Departs

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reacted to Marcus’ departure by writing on the crypto executive’s Facebook page:

“David: I’ve learned so much working with you and I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for this place. 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 make those big bets.”

At the time of writing, Meta is at after-hours trading of $326.28. The social media giant has added 0.56% in the after-hours trading after losing 4% during the day. Also, the company has lost more than 14% in the last three months and an additional 1.10% over the past month. In the last five days, FB has dropped nearly 4%.

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Ibukun Ogundare

Ibukun is a crypto/finance writer interested in passing relevant information, using non-complex words to reach all kinds of audience. Apart from writing, she likes to see movies, cook, and explore restaurants in the city of Lagos, where she resides.