Facebook has announced it will launch the Novi digital wallet tied to the Diem blockchain-based payment system, having received the necessary regulatory clearances.
The Diem Association is a non-profit consortium overseeing the development of the Diem stablecoin. Novi is designed to allow users to add money to their wallets that would be converted to a Diem digital currency that could then be sent to others worldwide.
Novi has secured licenses or approvals in nearly every US state and it won’t launch any place where it has yet to receive clearances, according to Facebook officials.
Diem, which was first spearheaded by Facebook under the Libra name, is a blockchain-based payment system that has faced a number of roadblocks. Regulatory concerns over Facebook’s data privacy and potential money laundering issues have contributed to delays for the programme that was meant to launch in early 2021. Diem was originally meant to be backed by a wide mix of currencies and government debt but it’s now meant to launch as a single coin backed by the US dollar.