financemagnates.com
Coinbase, a US-listed cryptocurrency exchange, has been tapped by social network giant Facebook to pilot its new crypto wallet Novi. According to a blog post published on the exchange’s website, the pilot is being supported via Coinbase Custody.
Among its features include securing funds through Coinbase’s own segregated cold storage capabilities for managing private keys. Also, Novi’s users could purchase Pax Dollar (USDP) through their Novi accounts, which will be stored on deposit with Coinbase Custody Trust Company. The firm is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.
That said, users are entitled to Coinbase Custody’s insurance program, including a $320 million commercial crime policy. “Over the past nine years, Coinbase has developed deep expertise in secure and scalable crypto infrastructure, which we initially built to power our own first party applications. We then productized this infrastructure and now supply our secure infrastructure solutions to the rest of the market,” the US-listed crypto exchange noted.
The company added: “We believe that in the future, every company will be a crypto company, including fintech platforms, banks, social media, gaming companies, and consumer brands. Our goal is to arm them with the best tools possible, so their own users have a first-class experience and participate in the cryptoeconomy.”
Pilot Targeting Initially to US and Guatemala Users
So far, Facebook is piloting its digital wallet for users based in the United States and Guatemala, according to David Marcus, Facebook’s blockchain executive. “We’re also hopeful this will demonstrate a new stablecoin use case (as a payments instrument) beyond how they are typically used today,” Marcus commented on the announcement made today.
Facebook’s wallet project was initially named Libra, but later it was rebranded in April 2020 to Diem after a series of regulatory stepbacks.
Recently, Coinbase announced the launch of its waiting list for its non-fungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace, Coinbase NFT.