Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Dumps Crypto: Meta is pulling the plug on its crypto payments wallet amid Bitcoin crash
- The digital wallet Novi will be closed on September 1st
- The proprietary cryptocurrency Diem was settled in January
- It effectively marks the end of Zuckerberg’s crypto ambitions for Meta
Meta is closing its digital cryptocurrency wallet Novi less than a year after its launch, effectively ending the company’s crypto ambitions.
The Novi pilot allowed users to make fee-free, instant in-person payments through the app, which Meta claimed would make sending money “as easy as sending a message.”
The tech giant made its first foray into cryptocurrency, the Libra project, three years ago, before launching a “small pilot” of Novi last October.
The launch has been scaled back from its original ambitions, using stablecoin USDP instead of its own Diem coin.
Mark Zuckerberg’s meta has unplugged crypto transfer service Novi
A month after Novi’s launch, Meta’s crypto head David Marcus left the company and Diem, formerly known as Libra, began phasing out operations earlier this year.
In an update for its users, the service, which uses Meta’s own digital crypto wallet, will end on September 1st and as of July 21st, users will no longer be able to fund their accounts.
Novi advises users to withdraw their funds “as soon as possible”.
The closure of Novi comes amid a harsh crypto downturn that has seen leading cryptocurrencies crash.
The market has proven equally vulnerable to the broader woes of the global economy, leading some market commentators to herald the start of a crypto winter.
Year to date, Bitcoin is down 59 percent and slipped below $20,000, while Ethereum is down 70 percent to $1,127.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Meta said it plans to use Novi’s technology in future products like the Metaverse project.
“We’re already leveraging the years we’ve spent building capabilities for Meta overall on blockchain and introducing new products like digital collectibles.
‘You can expect to see more of us in the Web3 space because we’re very optimistic about what these technologies can mean for people and businesses in the Metaverse.’
Meta has called the Metaverse a great opportunity, especially for digital commerce, after investing $10 billion in the project.
However, Zuckerberg has spoken out in favor of generating plenty of revenue from the project for the foreseeable future.
In April, the Meta boss said it could take seven to 10 years for the investments to yield net income.
And while Meta might scale back its crypto efforts, it’s doubling down on its support for non-fungible tokens on its sites.
Facebook will soon be posting NFTs on its website with a Digital Collectibles tab in creators’ timelines to show off their work. Eventually, creators will be able to post to Facebook and Instagram.
While Meta may double in NFTs, trading volumes have declined significantly compared to last year as they take a hit from the crypto crisis.