The downfall of the cryptocurrency project Novi has been announced by Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook. It is suggested that users withdraw money as soon as possible. The announcement came after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the launch of a digital wallet for the metaverse.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: META) announced Friday that its crypto project pilot Novi “is ending soon.” According to its website:
Novi will no longer be available for use after September 1.
In Friday’s announcement, Meta explained that starting July 21, users will no longer be able to add money to their Novi accounts.
Additionally, as of September 1, neither the Novi app nor Novi on Whatsapp will be accessible, and users won’t be able to access their Novi accounts.
Users have been advised by the company to withdraw their Novi balances prior to September 1. Any funds still available after that date will be transferred to the debit cards or bank accounts indicated on their Novi accounts.
According to its website, Novi is a digital wallet that uses cryptocurrency to enable instant, fee-free money transfers for users. Oct. 2017 saw the beta release of Novi by Meta with Coinbase as its custody partner.
The balances of Novi accounts are kept in USDP (pax dollar), a stablecoin produced by the regulated Paxos Trust Company. Diem, formerly known as Libra, was the cryptocurrency Meta ultimately intended to use for the service. The business, however, ran into numerous regulatory obstacles and ultimately abandoned the plan. The Diem Group (or “Diem”intellectual )’s property and other technological assets related to operating a blockchain-based payment network were acquired by Silvergate Capital, according to a statement made in January.
Meta has been ramping up its metaverse business. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last week that his company aims to attract billions of people to use the metaverse, generating massive revenue for Meta.
Zuckerberg also announced on June 22 that Facebook Pay is rebranding to Meta Pay. Moreover, he unveiled a digital wallet for the metaverse. “Beyond the current features, we’re working on something new: a wallet for the metaverse that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay,” the Facebook co-founder detailed.
