Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Presentation of Meta Pay to Expire Novi's Pilot Wallet in September

Meta's first attempt to enter the crypto market will end in September with its pilot project Novi wallet closure.

Novi's website landing page has been revamped to inform pilot users that the platform will be decommissioned on September 1. This ends an eight-month-long pilot project that saw users based in the United States and Guatemala test out the cryptocurrency-powered payment platform.

Novi users are told to transfer funds from their wallets to their bank accounts. Guatemalan users can withdraw cash at a designated location in Guatemala City.

To ensure the safety of their funds, Novi users are recommended to download their account information before the closure date. From Sep. 1, they will no longer be able to access their wallets. Deposits to Novi wallets will also be stopped from July 21st

Cointelegraph asked Novi to clarify whether there are plans for a future release of the product, which will have multi-cryptocurrency support.

The closure of the Novi pilot follows five months after Meta's stablecoin project Diem was sold to Silvergate Capital Corporation. Diem was set to be the stablecoin that powered the Meta ecosystem but was eventually intended to be the native currency of Novi wallet.

In the U.S., regulatory pressure forced Meta to sell the intellectual property of Diem to Silvergate, which was going to integrate the blockchain infrastructure and assets into its existing payment platform.

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Novi used the Paxos-powered stablecoin Pax Dollar (USDP) as its native dollar-backed token for payments after Diem's failure to launch. American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase partnered with Novi as its custody partner to manage and store user funds. Meta had intended to migrate the Novi platform to the Diem blockchain ecosystem once it had gained regulatory approval.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the Meta corporation, announced on June 22 that Facebook Pay will be replaced with Meta Pay. The new system will have a digital wallet for the metaverse "that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay."

Meta’s attempts to bring cryptocurrencies and stablecoins into its ecosystem have been a long, hard journey. The Diem ecosystem also went through its own rebranding fiasco after regulators around the world protested against Facebook’s parent company's attempt to do the same.