Ex-Meta Exec David Marcus Launches Crypto Payments Startup
Summary
Former Meta executive David Marcus head of Facebooks stablecoin Diem efforts is launching a new cryptocurrency payments startup on the Lightning Network called Lightspark.The initial capital raise was co-led by a16z and Paradigm with participation from Thrive Capital, Coatue, Felix Capital, Ribbit Capital, Matrix Partners, Zeev Ventures and others, according to a LinkedIn post.At Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Marcus headed a team building a new stablecoin first called Libra, then Diem, along with a crypto wallet, Novi. We have always been big believers in bitcoin, its unique history and its foundational role in crypto, Sriram Krishnan and Chris Dixon, partners at Andreessen Horowitz, said in a statement.Its hard to overstate the growth and impact bitcoin has had since Satoshi published his paper in October 2008. Millions of people hold bitcoin as their first entry into the crypto ecosystem, reads the statement.See also: Complying with Crypto Sanctions and AML Regulations Is Complex, But Not ImpossibleHeadquartered in Los Angeles, Lightspark is developing infrastructure for the blockchain protocol Lightning Network, with the goal of boosting the speed and efficiency of the cryptocurrency protocol. Lightspark is targeting the technology and isnt planning to develop its own stablecoin or token.Matrixs relationship with David goes back to 2010 when he was a young entrepreneur relocating from Switzerland to Palo Alto to build Zong, a telecom carrier-based billing network for digital goods. I had recently joined Matrix from PayPal and was immediately impressed with Davids vision and entrepreneurial grit.