UPDATED 22:20 EDT / OCTOBER 19 2021

BLOCKCHAIN

Facebook Novi pilot program launches without support for Diem cryptocurrency

Facebook Inc.’s long-awaited Novi digital wallet has launched into testing but with a major feature missing: support for Facebook’s Diem cryptocurrency.

The pilot program is being run in the U.S. and Guatemala, except for those living in Alaska, Nevada, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For now the program offers support only for USDP, a “stablecoin” provided by the Paxos Trust Company. USDP is claimed by Paxos to be the “world’s leading regulated stablecoin” and is pegged to the U.S. dollar through 100% cash reserves.

The pilot program for the Novi wallet is being supported by Coinbase Inc., which is acting as the custody partner for the product via Coinbase Custody. Coinbase explained in a blog post today that Novi users’ funds would be held within Coinbase Custody Trust Co., a qualified custodian in New York that is fully regulated under that state’s law. Novi users will also benefit from Coinbase Custody’s insurance, which includes a $320 million crime policy.

Coinbase Custody managed $180 billion of crypto assets as of the end of June and is pitched as offering deep expertise with secure and scalable crypto infrastructure.

“We believe that in the future, every company will be a crypto company, including fintech platforms, banks, social media, gaming companies and consumer brands,” Coinbase said. “Our goal is to arm them with the best tools possible so their own users have a first-class experience and participate in the crypto-economy.”

Picking Paxos as the stablecoin provider makes sense in that Paxos is fully regulated and legal, but it’s also not even close to being in the top 100 cryptocurrencies. USDP is so small and obscure that it currently has a market cap of just $74 million, according to CoinGecko, and is presently trading at 96.45 cents, below its $1 pegged rate.

The launch of Novi without Diem is also an interesting move by Facebook. The launch of the pilot program comes two years after Facebook announced its intention to enter the cryptocurrency business in 2019.

Novi was initially known as Callibra, while the stalled Diem cryptocurrency was once known as Libra. To say it was controversial after it was announced is an understatement. Facebook was attacked from all sides, with one congressman comparing Libra to the 9/11 attacks.

The reincarnation of Libra and Callibra has not gained as much controversy or attention so far. With Diem waiting on regulatory approval, all Facebook is seemingly offering is a standard digital wallet that only supports an obscure stablecoin. The only potentially controversial issue so far is how boring and nongroundbreaking Facebook’s offering is.

Image: Facebook/Novi

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