Novi lead David Marcus to depart Meta, formerly known as Facebook, at the end of the year

David Marcus, co-creator of the Diem digital currency and current leader of the Novi unit at Meta (formerly known as Facebook), announced Tuesday that he will exit the company at the end of 2021.

In a set of tweets, Marcus wrote that "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." Bloomberg first reported on the departure. 

"While there’s still so much to do right on the heels of launching Novi — and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems — my entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it," Marcus continued.

Stephane Kasriel, currently VP of product at Novi, will take the helm after Marcus's exit.

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"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 wrote.

Marcus has been the public face of Meta's long-struggling digital currency initiative since its inception in 2019, when the announcement of what was then known as Libra was met with a mix of optimism, caution and, in the case of some policymakers, outright hostility at the notion of the social media giant operating its own form of money. Since then, core characteristics of Diem have shifted to accommodate regulator concerns, though the digital currency itself remains in a kind of limbo.

Novi, which began as a wallet project within Facebook, is said to be moving closer to launch, having struck a pilot deal with stablecoin company Paxos earlier this fall.