A digital wallet called Novi, that would let users store cryptocurrencies, is to be launched this year by Facebook.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in an media interview by David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto unit.
He told The Information news site that the company’s management “feel pretty committed” to launch the digital wallet, Novi, this year.
According to him, he would have preferred to release Novi alongside Diem, a digital currency tied to the dollar that the company is also developing, but Diem’s timing was uncertain.
“In theory, Novi could launch before Diem, but it would mean launching without Diem and that’s not necessarily something that we want to do,” Marcus told The Information.
“It all depends on how long it’s going to take for Diem to actually go live and that’s not something I’m personally looking after.”
Facebook had in 2019 revealed plans to introduce a cryptocurrency, that at the time was called Libra. The project however faced regulatory resistance over concerns about security and reliability.
The Libra changed its name to Diem in December 2020 and as part of a ‘strategic shift’, moved its operations from Switzerland to the United States.
