Ex-Diem Executive Joins Mina Blockchain as Operating Chief

(Bloomberg) -- One more person who worked at Diem, the failed stablecoin project backed by Meta Platforms Inc., has moved on to a new crypto venture. 

Kurt Hemecker, who was the chief of staff and head of internal business operations and human resources at Diem Networks, has joined the Mina Foundation as chief operating officer.

The Mina Foundation supports a privacy-focused blockchain that raised $92 million in March through token sales to investors including FTX Ventures and Three Arrows Capital. Hemecker said he was interested in the startup because it uses a cryptographic method known as a zero-knowledge proof that adds more privacy to transactions between users.

“It has a much broader use case than stablecoins,” he said.

Hemecker previously worked with David Marcus, who spearheaded the crypto ambitions at Meta until he left the company at the end of last year. Hemecker and Marcus worked together at mobile payments platform Zong and at PayPal Holdings Inc., which acquired Zong.

While Marcus’s next move is still unclear, other people who worked on Diem have gone on to found their own crypto startups. Several executives have alseo joined blockchain software company Chainlink Labs Inc., including Dahlia Malkhi, the Diem Association’s former chief technology officer, who became Chainlink’s chief research officer.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.