

Facebook recently announced that it would be launching a pilot of its newly-branded Novi crypto wallet, after rebranding the name in 2020. Furthermore, Facebook had personally enlisted the US cryptocurrency exchange giants Coinbase to pilot Novi through the exchange’s Coinbase Custdody feature. However, mere hours before the official launch, the social media giant came under attack by US lawmakers who were concerned about Facebook’s ability to handle crypto assets.
Crucially, the lawmakers prompted the company to cease the pilot project ASAP, a direct request supported by a personal letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg signed by a number of Democratic senators reads that,
”Facebook cannot be trusted to manage a payment system or digital currency when its existing ability to manage risks and keep consumers safe has proven wholly insufficient,”
As a response, the Facebook-Diem league commented that “Diem is not Facebook,”, and that clearly the senators and other government officials had greatly misunderstood the relationship between the two parties- Diem and Facebook. Diem disclosed that it is an independent organization, and its Diem Association includes Facebook on top of more than 20 different members.
For now it seems that Novi is a fact. The crypto-wallet includes the feature of securing funds by means of Coinbase’s cold storage capabilities. Users of Novi will now be able to purchase Pax Dollar (USDP) directly through Novi user accounts. These USDPs will be stored in the Coinbase Custody Trust Company.