Meta, the mother company of Facebook, will lose its top crypto executive later this year.
David Marcus, who oversees Novi’s crypto business and formerly led the firm’s Messenger unit, announced his departure from the company on Tuesday. Marcus became a member of Facebook in 2014.
His departure is the latest big departure from a long-serving Facebook employee; in September, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer announced his resignation after 13 years with the firm.
Former Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel, who previously served as Novi’s head of Product, will take up Marcus’ position at the top of the organization.
Marcus has long been a prominent presence in the crypto ecosystem, dating back to his time as PayPal‘s president, when he was among the first generation of tech heavyweights to embrace Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Marcus formerly sat on Coinbase’s board of directors.
His term as Facebook’s crypto leader has primarily been characterized by setbacks, as the company’s Diem cryptocurrency project has faced considerable industry and regulatory criticism, prompting the company to slow the rate at which it rolled out new crypto endeavours. Earlier this year, the business released a short trial of its cryptocurrency wallet Novi, which allowed users in the United States and Guatemala to swap “stablecoin” cryptocurrencies using the app.
Marcus implies that he may be launching his own business shortly.
“While there’s still so much to accomplish immediately after launching Novi — and I’m still as impassioned as ever about the need for reform in our payments and banking institutions – my entrepreneurial DNA has been nagging me for too many mornings in a row to keep ignoring it,” Marcus said in a Twitter thread.
Personal news: after a fulfilling seven years at Meta, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down and leave the company at the end of this year. (1/7)
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) November 30, 2021