Facebook mulls adding NFT support to its crypto wallet Novi

Facebook is considering the possibility of adding non-fungible tokens (NFT) support to its crypto wallet. Novi, the social media giant’s proprietary crypto wallet, is slated for launch sometime this year.

Facebook Financial head David Marcus revealed in a recent interview that the company is definitely looking at ways to get involved in the NFT space. Marcus is also the co-creator of Diem, the crypto backed by Facebook.

“We’re definitely looking at the number of ways to get involved in the space because we think we’re in a really good position to do so,” Marcus said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.

Facebook Financial, also known as F2, is the social media giant’s internal group responsible for the development the Novi crypto wallet. “When you have a good crypto wallet like Novi will be, you also have to think about how to help consumers support NFTs,” Marcus revealed. “We’re definitely thinking about this.”

Facebook is well-positioned to explore the NFT industry as the new crypto wallet can also be used to hold non-fungible tokens. At the moment, however, Marcus did not specify what kinds of NFT targeted products the company might launch.

Facebook said that it is committed to launching the Novi crypto wallet this year, according to Trtworld.com. The company previously planned to launch it alongside the Diem, but the crypto’s launch remains uncertain at this point.

Facebook planned to launch a Diem that is backed by the U.S. dollar, which makes it a stablecoin. However, the project is still facing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators that it is yet unclear when it might be introduced.

“In theory, Novi could launch before Diem, but it would mean launching without Diem and that's not necessarily something that we want to do,” Marcus said. “It all depends on how long it's going to take for Diem to actually go live and that's not something I'm personally looking after.”

With the issues surrounding the Diem project, Facebook is considering launching the Novi crypto wallet without the Diem as a “last resort.” However, Marcus pointed out that this is not the ideal set-up as both projects are necessary to revolutionize the way people make payments. With both the stablecoin and the wallet, people can use the system to make faster and more affordable cross-border transfers.

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