Former Facebook Employees Get $200 Million To Create Blockchain System For Aptos

Silvergate Capital purchased Diem’s tech assets for $182 million earlier this year, ending the grandiose ambition of Facebook to create a blockchain payments network.

The transaction demonstrated how Facebook, now Meta, is left with few regulator-approved ways to become a key participant in the blockchain ecosystem.

Some ex-Meta workers are taking up the open-source Diem blockchain mantle in an attempt to accomplish the idea of a decentralized network that they claim is created to support billions of users. It is geared to cater to substantial corporate clients early on.

Blockchain System For Aptos

Aptos, a project founded by ex-Facebook employees who just left the firm in December, has already received unicorn money from Andreessen Horowitz and other prominent web3 investors.

Aptos CEO Mo Shaikh said in a recent blog post:

“We are the founders, researchers, designers, and builders of Diem, the first blockchain developed for this purpose… while the rest of the world never saw what we produced, our job is far from done.”

Aptos has revealed that it has secured $200 million in funding for its objective of developing a blockchain scalability system with participation from Tiger Global, Katie Haun, Multicoin Capital, 3 Arrows Capital, FTX Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures.

Silvergate Capital is another notable investor in the first round, while the Aptos team insists that they would not license or use any of Silvergate’s Diem IP as they build up their blockchain.

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Crypto total market cap at $1.78 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Layer 1 System For Aptos

The Aptos blockchain will be a Layer 1 system, which means it will not be built on top of current blockchains such as Ethereum or Solana but will instead develop its decentralized network.

Along with the investment announcement, Aptos announced the official launch of its “devnet,” which will enable developers to explore and build on the Aptos blockchain before a public release, which the team believes will occur in Q3 of 2022.

Aptos’ goal is to create a more scalable blockchain with faster transactions and lower fees than today’s mainstream networks. The creators aspire to produce a more stable and predictable network for corporate customers interested in adopting blockchain technology.

No Direct Link With Facebook

While Diem supporters such as Andreessen Horowitz may gather behind a team attempting to take up the task of what Facebook was trying to establish with Diem and Libra, some in the crypto community remain wary of accomplishing a vision of web3 imagined by Facebook.

“To be clear, we have no official connection with Facebook and no funding from them,” Shaikh said.

Meanwhile, another challenge/opportunity that Aptos faces is how soon it can recruit developers. The company seeks to attract developers by using Move, an open-source programming language created by Meta.

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Featured image from SiliconANGLE, chart from TradingView.com