LONDON: Facebook is ready to launch a digital wallet that would let users store cryptocurrencies, even as it is yet to set a date for the release of its own cryptocurrency, a senior company executive said.

David Marcus, head of Facebook鈥檚 crypto unit, told The Information news site that the company鈥檚 leadership 鈥渇eel pretty committed鈥� to launch the digital wallet called Novi this year.

He would ideally like to launch the digital wallet, Novi, at the same time as Facebook鈥檚 own digital currency, a stablecoin called Diem that will be tied to the value of the dollar, but he could not be sure when that will happen, he said.

鈥淚n theory, Novi could launch before Diem, but it would mean launching without Diem and that鈥檚 not necessarily something that we want to do,鈥� Marcus said. 鈥淚t all depends on how long it鈥檚 going to take for Diem to actually go live and that鈥檚 not something I鈥檓 personally looking after.鈥�

Facebook first announced plans to launch a digital currency called Libra in 2019, but moved the project from Switzerland to the US in December 2020 and changed its name to Diem following regulatory pushback and technical concerns.

Cuba鈥檚 government said Thursday it will recognize, and regulate, cryptocurrencies for payments on the island.

A resolution published in the Official Gazette said the central bank will set rules for digital currencies and determine how to license providers of related services within Cuba.

The popularity of such currencies has grown among a technologically savvy group in Cuba as it has become harder to use dollars, in part because of toughened embargo rules imposed under former President Donald Trump.

The resolution says the central bank can authorize use of cryptocurrencies 鈥渇or reasons of socioeconomic interest鈥� but with the state assuring that their operations are controlled. It also explicitly noted that operations could not involve illegal activities.

In crypto markets on Friday, bitcoin traded marginally higher, gaining 0.2 percent to $47,116.51 at 4:20 p.m. Riyadh time. Ethereum climbed 1.3 percent to $3,138.02 as a report from blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock showed its daily issuance fell below blockchain鈥檚 for the first time on record.

Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559, which went live on Aug. 5, burns a portion of fees paid to the miners, removing a sizeable number of coins from circulation. Since activation, the upgrade has eliminated over 100,000 ETH, or 36 percent of the new coins issued over the same period, according to Etherchain.