*By Alex Heath*
Facebook said Friday that it won’t partner with the crypto firm Stellar, despite a report that the two companies recently held talks.
“We are not engaged in any discussions with Stellar, and we are not considering building on their technology,” a Facebook spokesperson told Cheddar.
Business Insider [reported](https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-is-talking-to-cryptocurrency-stellar-about-making-a-big-move-into-crypto-2018-7) Friday that Facebook had discussed creating its own variant of the Stellar blockchain network. Stellar didn’t respond to Cheddar’s request for comment on the report.
Stellar’s cryptocurrency asset, called Lumens, is the sixth most valuable at around $4.3 billion. After the Business Insider report, the price of Lumens spiked by roughly 10 percent on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
On Friday, before the Business Insider report, Facebook vice president David Marcus [stepped down from the board](https://www.coindesk.com/facebooks-david-marcus-steps-down-from-coinbases-board/) of the crypto exchange Coinbase citing a conflict of interest.
Earlier this year, Marcus was put in charge of forming a group of Facebook employees dedicated to developing blockchain technology, and [Cheddar reported](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-plans-to-create-its-own-cryptocurrency) that the group was exploring the creation of a Facebook cryptocurrency.
“Because of the new group I’m setting up at Facebook around blockchain, I’ve decided it was appropriate for me to resign from the Coinbase board,” Marcus said in a statement to Cheddar. “I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the talent and execution the team has demonstrated during my tenure, and I wish the team all the success it deserves going forward."
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Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
