From this year, Facebook will be ready to welcome “diem”, the new name of its cryptocurrency replacing “libra”. The company says it will be able to launch its digital wallet (dubbed “Novi”), which will be at the heart of digital token exchanges thereafter. It would already be ready, pending regulatory green lights.
Whether or not it launches this year will depend on two factors. The first concerns the diem, which unlike the digital wallet infrastructure, has to go through a whole bunch of acceptance procedures before it can ever exit. The second concerns the compatibility of the wallet with other tokens. If Novi opens up to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, then that would allow it to be up and running in just a few weeks.
The association of the same name, which works on cryptocurrency, also includes the French group Iliad, the American Uber and the Swedish Spotify among its partners. Of course, Facebook remains the headliner and cryptocurrency is presented there as being that of the social network. This is why the head of crypto projects at Facebook, David Marcus, spoke yesterday with The Information.
“Ready to get started”
To questions from the media, the manager preferred to remain vague. In particular on the part of the calendar, he preferred to emphasize the fact that Facebook and its partners remained dependent on regulatory procedures. “In theory, we can start Novi before the diem but that’s not necessarily what we want to do”, he exclaimed, before adding that “It will depend on how long it will take for the diem to appear. “.
“The Novi wallet is ready […]. We are at the point where we are ready to bring it to market after acquiring the necessary licenses to operate in the United States and other countries ” David Marcus also said. What to consider an announcement for this year if the requirements of the association ended up being met.
In any case, Facebook and its partners will release a “stablecoin” backed by the dollar during the presentation of the diem. Cryptocurrency will therefore not be as volatile as tokens like bitcoin or ether. It will track the dollar like Tether, the fifth most popular cryptocurrency and the first capitalization stablecoin.
At Facebook, the project to launch a cryptocurrency has been around since 2019 when the company joined a consortium of 28 companies and NGOs.
I am a technology author with 8 years of experience in journalism. My writing covers the latest technology advancements and trends, drawing on my expertise in news journalism and social media platforms. I have contributed to major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
