Payments

Facebook parent Meta to shut down Novi cryptocurrency wallet

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July 5, 2022

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is shutting the Novi cryptocurrency wallet in September. The company introduced the wallet in June 2019 to hold its Libra stablecoin, according to a report by Coindesk.

Meta is urging users to withdraw money from the platform "as soon as possible," according to its website. Starting July 21, users will be unable to add money to their accounts and the WhatsApp account and main Novi App will be unavailable. After Sept. 1 users will be unable to access transaction history or other data.

Meta launched the cryptocurrency project in 2019 but had to change course due to regulatory pressure. Although it was able to create Novi as a transfer pilot for crypto-based remittances in 2020, this project was only active in the U.S. and Guatemala.

Meta claims it will repurpose Novi for future projects. It is also looking at supporting non-fungible tokens.

"We are already leveraging the years spent on building capabilities for Meta overall on blockchain and introducing new products, such as digital collectibles," Meta said in an emailed statement to Coindesk. "You can expect to see more from us in the Web3 space because we are very optimistic about the value these technologies can bring to people and businesses in the metaverse."