What is Lightspark?
What is Lightspark?
David Marcus's new startup will put the fire into Bitcoin
The Tycoons never pause to get into our wallets. Before the next crypto winter has arrived, they are already preparing for the next Bitcoin bull market. David Marcus has a new project. The relentless greed of Silicon Valley knows no bounds.
David Marcus led Libra, Facebook’s own failed stablecoin project.
Details are vague, but Lightspark has raised an undisclosed funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm. It turns out it’s not just Jack Dorsey who is obsessed with the Lightning Network.
David Marcus is a Meta grade entrepreneur, if you can call a PayPal mafia graduate that. He is the former president of PayPal and Vice President of Messaging Products at Facebook where he ran the Facebook Messenger unit from 2014 until 2018. After getting absolutely nowhere with Diem, I mean Libra, I mean Facebook actually, he’s starting a new startup and not surprisingly getting backed by a16z.
a16z is writing about the future.
The Tycoons don’t fall far from the trees of capital, it sounds like. After his departure from Facebook in November, many crypto industry insiders speculated where long-time executive David Marcus would land. This week we found out, and the name of his startup is Lightspark. Such a shiny executive, at the height of his powers ready to embark upon After his departure from Facebook in November, many crypto industry insiders speculated where long-time executive David Marcus would land.
Lightspark is a Lightning Network infrastructure company. Most of Silicon Valley understand Bitcoin and the lightning network is the real deal. The firm did not disclose funding amounts oddly but is sharing that their first round is co-led by a16z Crypto and Paradigm with participation from Thrive Capital, Coatue, Felix Capital, Ribbit Capital, Matrix Partners and Zeev Ventures.
In addition to Marcus himself, the new company also includes other former Meta employees in executive roles. One wonders at its connection to Facebook. Instagram created NFT integrations came just as Bitcoin started to crash in 2022, it was pretty hilarious.
Marcus has revealed few details about Lightspark’s plans, but says that the firm will “explore, build, and expand the capabilities and utility of Bitcoin.” He also says that the company will create a team to “dive deeper into the Lightning Network.” Given this context, it is very possible that the company may create a crypto payments service of some type. Maybe Lightspark will help us pay for stuff in the Metaverse. That would certainly be Meta, just don’t call anything zuck-bucks, like please!
Marcus also commented on the recent crypto market downturn, now 60% below its peak. Marcus called this a good moment “to focus on building and creating value.” Last time I checked PayPal and Meta’s stocks weren’t doing too well. Paypal’s stock is down 68% in the last year, and Facebook’s stock is down 37% YOY, which is a lot.
The timing for the reveal could have been better as Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have sustained massive losses in recent days. Nobody said Mark or David ever had much insight into Web3. Mark didn’t even see TikTok coming, if you can believe that.
Marcus previously founded Zong, a telecom billing network that was later acquired by PayPal (PYPL). Founding stuff is in his DNA, nobody wins every time. Marcus resigned from Diem, Facebook, and associated projects in November 2021 after the product repeatedly failed to launch. It was sad to see that even Facebook couldn’t pretend to do a DAO and a blockchain consortium with the higher ups with Libra. But Facebook needs its own internal Robox-clone one way or another. No problem then that David is 50 and the average user in Roblox is like 10.
Supply-demand ponzi schemes like Bitcoin are limitless when Bitcoin is now owned by the one percent and has escaped all manner of regulatory scrutiny conveniently in the United States. Jack was only too happy to focus on Square, that’s also doing things with the Lightning Network, where he quickly changed the name to Block. So what will this Block and Meta duopoly on the future of payments feel like?
Let There Be Light
The Lightning Network is a project designed to create faster and cheaper transactions on top of the bitcoin network.
a16z knows a thing or two about developing duopolies on new sectors of Web3, like it has successfully accomplished in 2022 with NFT platforms.
So what are we looking at?
David’s latest project, Lightspark, aims at nothing less than reinventing the largest and most antiquated parts of financial services by building on the Lightning Network,” wrote Matrix Partners’ Dana Stalder – an early investor in Marcus’ Zong – in a blog post.
When people are as rich as David Marcus here’s how they view things like inflation and crypto downturns: “Downturns are good moments to focus on building and creating value with mission-aligned people,” said Marcus. Are you a mission aligned person Mr. Marcus? David is an Aries, certainly quite the opposite of a shifty Libra.
Seeing Silicon Valley and Venture Capital pimp Web3 for lust for power and greed, just makes me turn in my vainglory idealism for Satoshi Nakamoto, likely invented by a consortium of such people as David Marcus, Jack Dorsey and these kinds of Silicon Valley group-thinkers always ready to exploit a new trend. Distributed ledger technology has made us pray at the altar of a form of FOMO, that’s frankly like jumping wallet-first into dystopia.
The Meta Mafia Invasion of Web3
I am afraid the high-minded halls of a16z have had a Meta invasion. Several Diem leaders also moved to a16z Crypto last year, which, perhaps not coincidentally, is funding Marcus’ new project. So forgive me if I’m skeptical that a16z has created an NTF duopoly to go with the Lightning Network of this brave new world.
a16z’s future NFT canon, is highly recommended if you worship at this idol of the future.
Who are my apostles this time Marc? Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon, Denis Nazarov, Jesse Walden, Linda Xie. Where do I pray and how much crypto to be part of the pyramid scheme?
Here part of a16z and Meta’s plan is to marry the “ownership” economy into a passionate embrace with Facebook’s Metaverse. Apparently, I only need 100 true fans to get on the inside.
There I am sure, my Life will be Non-fungible and my soul will be for sale in my NFT profile filled avatar of daily begging and raising tips from the elite, their robots, the robots of their kids, etc.… and I would sooner start a TikTok and I have, thank you very much David Marcus.
Lightspark has already started off with a bang of transparency: “We’re excited to dive into Lightning, learn more and work alongside the community. We’ll share more about our work as we make progress.”
Chris Dixon, did you have a secret meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, that I am not aware of? a16z say:
We at a16z started investing in bitcoin in 2013, several years before we had a dedicated crypto fund. We have always been big believers in Bitcoin, its unique history and its foundational role in crypto.
Oh my faithful overlords! What have you done!
Diem itself was sold to Silvergate Bank in a $200 million deal. But with a16z’s help perhaps even Facebook can learn about how to enter the Web3 portal to the Metaverse. Maybe it will be like a big-bang of Lightsparks and illuminati like venture capitalists ready to “take over the world”. How did you get so good at this Mr. Dixon? Celebrated viral articles on Medium all those years ago…heralding a new wage of decentralization and “ownership”.
A prolonged crypto bear market could mean reduced investor interest and a smaller potential hiring pool. The best startups always come from a downturn. If Meta is funding a16z and even supplying them with talent, what could it all mean?
Thanks for reading guys! Move over Stripe, the Bitcoin Lightning Network might come out of the shadows soon enough.
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