The Strategist

Facebook renames Calibra cryptocurrency wallet to Novi



05/27/2020 - 07:09



The company aims to distance from the Libra project, TechCrunch notes.



Christoph Scholz via flickr
Christoph Scholz via flickr
Facebook has changed the name of its digital wallet Calibra to Novi. It will be managed by an independent sunsidiary of the social network, Novi Financial. Novi is designed to store and exchange digital currency, in particular, the Libra cryptocurrency. The name comes from the Latin words novus (new) and via (path), the company explained.

The new logo and wallet design symbolize the smooth movement of digital currencies, the company says. Facebook also added the Libra cryptocurrency symbol to the logo to emphasize the connection between the two projects.

Using the rebranding, Facebook is trying to make it clear that the Libra project does not belong to the social network, TechCrunch claims. Facebook is only part of the Libra association, along with dozens of others, for example Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, Iliad, Lyft, Shopify, Spotify, Uber and others.

The service will identify customers using an official identity card. The social network promises to integrate fraud protection into all elements of the application. Novi will be available to users along with Libra's cryptocurrency, according to Facebook.

In March, Bloomberg and The Information sources reported that the company was delaying the launch of its digital wallet for Libra from summer to October 2020. The social network also decided to revise the project and offer currencies issued by central banks, such as the dollar and the euro.

source: techcrunch.com