Facebook Messenger VP Joins Coinbase's Board of Directors

David Marcus, vice president of messaging products at Facebook and ex-PayPal president, has joined the board of directors at Coinbase.

AccessTimeIconDec 13, 2017 at 11:20 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:55 p.m. UTC

Digital currency exchange startup Coinbase has announced the appointment of a Facebook executive to its board of directors.

In joining the board, David Marcus, vice president of messaging products at Facebook, will bring years of experience in building large-scale mobile products, according to a Coinbase statement posted yesterday.

Previously president of online payment giant PayPal, Marcus said that he has been "fascinated by cryptocurrencies since 2012," and that the technology "has the potential to materially change the lives of people around the world."

He joined Paypal after his own mobile payment startup Zong was bought up by eBay for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in 2011.

Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, said:

"David's knowledge of both the payments and mobile space will help guide us in achieving our mission of creating a truly open financial system that will bring opportunity to people all across the globe."

The announcement came the same day that Coinbase temporarily halted trading for litecoin and ethereum due to a "major outage" amid surging prices for both cryptocurrencies.

With bitcoin's price also rampant, the firm has been onboarding record numbers of new users, while the firm's iOS app has climbed to the top spot on Apple's U.S.-based App Store.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Coinbase. 

Facebook Messenger image via Shutterstock

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.