David Marcus, who was known for heading crypto and digital finance operations of Meta (formerly Facebook), has unveiled his new startup, Lightspark.
The company will focus on building use cases for Bitcoin. It will use the Lightning Network , a protocol that was developed for making smaller transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. The protocol promises to make Bitcoin efficient for daily use, but even after years of its development, it is yet to hit the mainstream.
“Downturns are good moments to focus on building and creating value with mission-aligned people. We’re excited to dive into Lightning, learn more and work alongside the community,” Marcus wrote in a statement.
The startup further clarified that it will not develop any cryptocurrency or stablecoin .
The crypto startup has already received the backing of major investors, including a16z Crypto, Paradigm, Coatue and Matrix Partners, but the company did not disclose the amount it raised or the current valuation.
A Crypto Expert
Marcus was a long-time employee of Meta, spending more than seven years with the company. He headed Meta’s crypto wallet Novi for almost four years and sat on the board of the Diem Association. In addition, he was credited to be one of the creators of stablecoin Diem. But, the project has now been abandoned, and Meta and its partners have sold the assets to Silvergate Bank.
Moreover, Marcus worked with PayPal earlier and founded and headed a couple of other payments platforms.
Lightspark attracted several former executives of Meta’s crypto division and has now closed the stablecoin project, Diem (formerly Libra).
James Everingham, the former engineering Vice President of Novi, joined Marcus’ startup. Christian Catalini, another executive who helped develop Diem, has been charged with the economic and strategy efforts of Lightspark. Further, the communication efforts of the new company will be handled by the former Chief Marketing and Communication Officer of Robinhood, Christina Smedley.
