The former head of Meta’s failed stablecoin project admits he was too ‘idealistic.’ Now David Marcus’s new startup plans to work within the system

• Lightspark cofounder David Marcus plans to use bitcoin to settle global money transfers in real time.
• Marcus founded the venture in 2022 after running Meta’s failed stablecoin project.
• Investors in Lightspark include crypto venture big shots Paradigm and a16z.

After years of pie-in-the-sky dreams and pitches, crypto founders have become more realistic.