- David Marcus alleges political interference killed Facebook's Diem stablecoin project.
- Claims by crypto founders reporting targeted banking exclusions in the US are growing.
David Marcus, former head of Facebook’s Libra stablecoin project, which was later rebranded to Diem, has revealed new details about the initiative’s collapse.
He alleged that political interference — not regulatory noncompliance — was its undoing.
His account adds to a growing chorus of claims about “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” an alleged government effort to pressure banks into severing ties with cryptocurrency firms.
In a recent post on X, Marcus recounted how Libra was ready for a limited rollout in 2021 after addressing every regulatory concern.
However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen allegedly told Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell that approving the project would be “political suicide.”
Soon after, the Fed reportedly pressured banks to back away, effectively killing the initiative.
Marcus’s revelations struck a chord with other industry leaders.
Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, replied to the thread claiming her firm faced similar targeting, stating, “Someday...I’ll be able to tell the real story of what the Fed did to Custodia Bank.” She added, “There’s so much corruption.”
Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz has also highlighted the issue, stating on The Joe Rogan Experience that more than 30 tech founders have been “debanked” over the past four years.
Crypto founders like Sam Kazemian alleged that JPMorgan Chase was instructed to close accounts tied to crypto wealth.
The controversy echoes concerns raised by Coinbase, which recently accused the FDIC of discouraging banks from engaging with crypto firms under the guise of “safety and soundness” reviews.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is up 0.6% over the past 24 hours to trade at $96,680.
- Ethereum is down 3.1% at $3,685.
What we’re reading
- Pump.fun took 33% hit to revenue after memecoin site stopped livestreaming — DL News
- CryptoPunks lead November NFT rally with 47% floor price increase — The Block
- I Watched Justin Sun Eat the World’s Most Expensive Banana. I Don’t Get It. — CoinDesk
- Coinbase-Incubated L2 Base Sees Record Transactions Thanks to AI Memecoin Deployer Clanker — Unchained
- ‘Say Goodbye to memes’ as DeFi exchange Hyperliquid mints wave of new crypto millionaires — DL News
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@dlnews.com.
