Facebook To Introduce Crypto Wallet Novi

(RTTNews) - Social media network Facebook Inc (FB) announced that it is going to introduce its cryptocurrency wallet named Novi Digital Wallet. The wallet will be tied to the Diem Blockchain system.

David Marcus, the chief of the finserv department of Facebook and a board member of Diem, argued that the present cash-run economy has left 1.7 billion people "unbanked or underbanked" and still the process is extremely slow.

He also added, "Globally the state of play for cross-border payments is dramatically bad with an average cost to consumers, who can afford it the least, of 6.5% (more than double the Sustainable Development Goal of 3%) and end-to-end settlement times of three days on average."

As a solution to this problem, Novi is being introduced. "Change is long overdue. It'll happen one way or another. Novi is ready to come to market. We feel that it's unreasonable to delay delivering the benefits of cheaper, interoperable, more accessible digital payments," said Marcus.

The Diem program was originally planned to launch in the first half of 2021 but it was postponed due to the constant government scrutiny of Facebook. Originally named Libra, Diem is a stable coin that turns the money added to the digital wallet into a digital currency and makes it easy to send worldwide.

Marcus added, "Let me be clear, if we only offered fiat money in Novi, it would bring people a lot of value," to dismiss any likeness with the more popular digital currencies like Ether, Dogecoin, or Bitcoin.

"So why not just do that and call it a day? Well, we might. But before we do, I strongly believe if there was ever a chance to create an open, interoperable protocol for money on the internet and truly change the game for people and businesses around the world, it is now," said Marcus while talking about how stable coins can improve the economic canvas across the world.

Marcus also assured that Novi will only roll out in the countries or zones where it has already been licensed. Facebook, as a payment platform, has already made more than $100 billion worth of transactions in 55 currencies.

Trying to debunk the common cryptocurrency myths, Marcus wrote, "It's a misconception that digital assets are by definition anonymous. Built and configured the right way, stablecoins and wallets put customer due diligence at the center of their approach to compliance."

According to the post, the company is also trying to comply with the regulators. "It has addressed every legitimate concern that was raised on its journey to design and build a high-quality stablecoin with extensive consumer protections, and a highly compliant payments network to support it - all within the US regulatory perimeter."

With the FTC accusing Facebook of monopolizing business by Ether buying any competition, it has to be seen whether Novi succeeds in its plans.