Facebook parent company Meta is no longer pursuing its plans to start its own form of cryptocurrency, selling off its technology to a Californian bank for roughly US$200 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Diem was launched in 2019, under the name Libra.
At the time, Facebook explained it had the lofty goal to democratise money.
“Success will mean that a person working abroad has a fast and simple way to send money to family back home, and a college student can pay their rent as easily as they can buy a coffee,” the company explained.
However, government officals voiced concern about Facebook effectively disrupting the stability of the global financial markets, as well as the possibility that it could be used to launder money.
Zuckerberg fronted Congress, and early backers, such as PayPal, Visa and Stripe, pulled out.
