Facebook rebrands Calibra cryptocurrency wallet to 'Novi'

Facing questions over how much control it would have over its digital coin, Facebook has renamed its digital wallet to avoid 'confusion'

Facebook has rebranded its digital wallet, in an attempt to distance the division from its cryptocurrency payment system less than a year after it was announced. 

Calibra has been given the new name: Novi, in order to avoid "confusion" over its independence, David Marcus, who is running the division, announced in a blogpost on Tuesday.

Marcus said that Calibra sounded “a little too close” to Libra, the blockchain-powered system that supports the wallet. 

“We’ve made an update to make sure there is clear differentiation and clarity,” Marcus said.

“Novi will be just one of the wallets that will eventually be built on the Libra network.”

Novi comes from the combination of two Latin words, novus meaning new and via meaning way.

Facebook announced plans for a global cryptocurrency named Libra in June last year with the goal of enabling people to pay or send money using their phones. Calibra was the wallet that would allow consumers to buy and sell Libra.

Calibra would be a Facebook-run function in Messenger, WhatsApp and a standalone app where people could store or share their Libra coins, the company said.

Regulators in the US and Europe have since become sceptical of a Facebook-controlled coin, with central bankers warning that a coin controlled by a company might be problematic for monetary policy

Facebook has denied that it will control decisions made on how the Libra payment systems works, and has set up the Libra Association, to govern its operations. 

But several key backers from the association have dropped out, including Mastercard and Vodafone, which claimed to have departed in order to pursue “a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion”. 

A Facebook spokesman said it was planning to introduce an early version of Novi once the Libra network is available, beginning in a group of select countries. 

It plans to extend the wallet to services including borrowing money and paying bills. 

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