Another step is afoot in the development of Facebook-led digital currency initiative Libra – as the Calibra wallet is renamed Novi to sever any links between it and Libra itself.
The move is aimed at ensuring Libra, whose membership includes Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase and Shopify among others, is not seen as a Facebook-only entity. According to the company, the name Novi is derived from the Latin ‘novus’, for new, and ‘via’ for way.
The Novi wallet is the main bulwark of the Libra initiative. As a wallet which can hold Libra cryptocurrencies, the goal is for sending money to be ‘as easy as sending a message’, with all customers verified through government-issued ID and fraud protections built in.
This comes alongside wider strategic changes made last month, where it was confirmed Libra’s vision is to create a more traditional payment system tied to local currencies, including USD, EUR and GBP. The Libra coin (LBR), the original concept, remains, albeit as a ‘smart contract ‘stitching’ together fixed nominal weights of underlying stablecoins.’
In a post announcing the change David Marcus – now head of Novi – said the aim was to introduce an early version of Novi when the Libra network becomes available.
“While we’ve changed our name from Calibra, we haven’t changed our long-term commitment to helping people around the world access affordable financial services,” wrote Marcus. “Whether you’re sending money home to support the family members who supported you, or you’re receiving money from your friends no matter where they are, the Novi wallet will make money work better for everyone.”
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