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David Marcus, the former president of PayPal and leader of Meta’s unsuccessful crypto initiative Libra, has finally spoken out regarding the political dynamics that led to the demise of what he referred to as a revolutionary global payments project.
His insights emerged following venture capitalist Marc Andreessen’s comments about Libra on the Joe Rogan Experience, prompting Marcus to reveal details about the events that unfolded behind the scenes.
Launched with ambitious goals in June 2019, Libra sought to establish a blockchain-based, stablecoin-driven global payments framework aimed at addressing inefficiencies in international transactions. Supported by 28 companies at its inception, the project encountered immediate scrutiny, with Marcus testifying before both the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee just weeks after its announcement.
Marcus stated that the two years following Libra’s introduction were characterized by an extensive effort to resolve regulatory issues related to financial crime, money laundering, and consumer protection. By early 2021, he asserted, Libra (which was later rebranded as Diem) had received preliminary approval from certain members of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors for a limited pilot launch.
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How Libra Was Killed.
I have never disclosed this publicly before, but since @pmarca opened the floodgates on @joerogan’s podcast, it seems fitting to provide more clarity on this.
As a reminder, Libra (then Diem) was a sophisticated, high-performance, payments-focused blockchain paired with a…— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) November 30, 2024
Janet Yellen Allegedly Warned Fed Chair That Supporting Libra Would Be “Political Suicide”
In a post on X, Marcus claims that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen intervened at a pivotal moment, cautioning Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that endorsing Libra’s launch would be tantamount to “political suicide.” While this exchange has not been directly confirmed, Marcus pointed to it as the moment when the project was essentially doomed. Shortly thereafter, the Federal Reserve reportedly issued a subtle warning to banks involved with Libra, advising them against proceeding.
Marcus described the downfall of Libra as a politically driven decision rather than one based on regulatory or legal issues, labeling it “a tough pill to swallow” given his belief in the rule of law in the United States.
Reflecting on the failure of the project, Marcus underscored the lessons learned, stressing the importance of future projects being constructed on decentralized and neutral networks like Bitcoin. “If you’re trying to build an open money grid for the world,” Marcus noted, “you have to build it on the most unassailable network and asset.”
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