MANILA, Philippines – Facebook’s head of cryptocurrency, David Marcus, announced on Twitter on Wednesday, December 1, that he would be stepping down from his post by the end of the year.

“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,” the executive tweeted.

Marcus will be leaving behind Meta’s Novi, the platform’s cryptocurrency wallet, which launched last October in US and Guatemala. The wallet supports the cryptocurrency Paxos, but Meta’s own Diem has yet to launch. Diem, announced by Meta back when it was still known as Facebook in June 2019, was first branded as Libra. Novi, the wallet, was first known as Calibra.

Meta faced stiff criticism from regulators at the time of its crypto announcements as its moves were partly seen by critics as a way for the tech giant to dominate another aspect of society: its financial systems.

Marcus was a Paypal executive before joining Meta in 2014.

While Meta’s crypto products haven’t made significant mass impact, the executive praised his team and admitted that there’s still a lot to do as far as Novi was concerned. For his resignation, Marcus only cited his “entrepreneurial DNA” nudging him to make the move “too many mornings in a row.”

Taking over Marcus’ post is Stephane Kasriel, formerly the vice president of product at Novi.

“I find comfort and confidence in knowing that they will continue to execute our important mission well under @skasriel’s leadership, and I can’t wait to witness this from the outside. I know there’s greatness ahead,” Marcus tweeted.

Kasriel tweeted, “I am so honored for the opportunity to lead the awesome @novi team, and look forward to continuing to build products and services that allow more access for people and businesses to the financial system and digital economy.” – Rappler.com