It has been a tumultuous two years for Facebook and its efforts to bring a cryptocurrency platform to the fore. Unfortunately those efforts have been for nought, with the Diem Foundation (formerly Libra) set to come to an end.

This as Facebook issued a press release noting that its crypto project was officially “winding down”.

“The Diem Association today announced the sale of its intellectual property and other assets related to the running of the Diem Payment Network to Silvergate Capital Corporation,” the company explained.

Silvergate was one of the financial institutions that initially helped Diem get off the ground, but will now assist with the aforementioned winding down process.

“We are proud of the work that the Association, our partners, and our team have done.  This has included building and testing a blockchain-based payment system with industry-leading controls to protect consumers and combat financial crime, that is intended to be safe for people making ordinary day-to-day payments,” added the statement.

As for why this decision was taken following two-plus years of working to bring a stablecoin and supporting crypto platform to fruition, it looks like the mounting scrutiny and opposition from a regulatory standpoint has simply proved too much for the Diem Foundation to navigate.

“Despite giving us positive substantive feedback on the design of the network, it nevertheless became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead. As a result, the best path forward was to sell the Diem Group’s assets, as we have done today to Silvergate,” the press release highlights.

“We remain confident in the potential for a stablecoin operating on a blockchain designed like Diem’s to deliver the benefits that motivated the Diem Association from the beginning,” it concludes.

Whether such a development is indeed possible remains to be seen, but it looks like any project of this nature being built by a big tech firm will continue to face opposition.