Facebook may launch digital wallet this year before own stablecoin: crypto wrap

Facebook is ready to launch a digital wallet that would let users store cryptocurrencies, even as it is yet to set a date for the release of its own cryptocurrency, a senior company executive said.

David Marcus, head of Facebook’s crypto unit, told The Information news site that the company’s leadership “feel pretty committed” to launch the digital wallet called Novi this year.

He would ideally like to launch the digital wallet, Novi, at the same time as Facebook’s own digital currency, a stablecoin called Diem that will be tied to the value of the dollar, but he could not be sure when that will happen, he said.

“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 said. “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 first announced plans to launch a digital currency called Libra in 2019, but moved the project from Switzerland to the US in December 2020 and changed its name to Diem following regulatory pushback and technical concerns.

Cuba’s government said Thursday it will recognize, and regulate, cryptocurrencies for payments on the island.

A resolution published in the Official Gazette said the central bank will set rules for digital currencies and determine how to license providers of related services within Cuba.

The popularity of such currencies has grown among a technologically savvy group in Cuba as it has become harder to use dollars, in part because of toughened embargo rules imposed under former President Donald Trump.

The resolution says the central bank can authorize use of cryptocurrencies “for reasons of socioeconomic interest” but with the state assuring that their operations are controlled. It also explicitly noted that operations could not involve illegal activities.

In crypto markets on Friday, bitcoin traded marginally higher, gaining 0.2 percent to $47,116.51 at 4:20 p.m. Riyadh time. Ethereum climbed 1.3 percent to $3,138.02 as a report from blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock showed its daily issuance fell below blockchain’s for the first time on record.

Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559, which went live on Aug. 5, burns a portion of fees paid to the miners, removing a sizeable number of coins from circulation. Since activation, the upgrade has eliminated over 100,000 ETH, or 36 percent of the new coins issued over the same period, according to Etherchain.