Facebook’s David Marcus Hints At Getting NFT Products to the NOVI Digital Wallet

David Marcus, the head of blockchain and crypto at Facebook, has spoken recently about the company’s plans of launching its NOVI digital wallet in the market. Interestingly, the social media giant is also considering the option to build products and features for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFTs have created a major rage in the crypto space while unlocking several potential opportunities in diverse market sectors. In an interview to Bloomberg TV earlier on Tuesday, August 24, Marcus said:

“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. When you have a good crypto wallet like Novi will be, you also have to think about how to help consumers support NFTs. We’re definitely thinking about this.” 

However, Marcus didn’t specifically mention what kind of NFT applications will the NOVI digital wallet have. Last week, the Facebook chief updated the crypto community with the developments taking place in-house.

Marcus said that the NOVI digital wallet is ready for launch and has secured licenses across all of the major states in the U.S. In the official announcement, Marcus wrote:

“In the US, we have secured licenses or approvals for Novi in nearly every state, and we will not launch anywhere we have not yet received such clearances. The Diem Association has become an independent entity, conducting its own dialogue with US and global regulators. It has addressed every legitimate concern that was raised on its journey to design and build a high quality stablecoin with extensive consumer protections, and a highly compliant payments network to support it — all within the US regulatory perimeter”.

However, Marcus said that they are waiting to launch the NOVI digital wallet alongside the Diem cryptocurrency, previously Libra. However, as “a last resort”, Facebook might have to launch its NOVI Digital wallet without Diem. But he believes that both are necessary to streamline payments.

NOVI and Diem together will help to eliminate costly transaction fees while simultaneously making cross-border payments more instantaneous. Marcus said that the West must up its game in the innovation taking place in FinTech to counter the rising dominance from China. “We’re really falling behind at an alarming rate,” he said. 

The latest decision from Facebook to dabble into NFTs comes just at a time when other financial giants are making similar moves. Earlier this week, payments giant VISA purchased a CryptoPunk NFT for a staggering $150,000.