Novi Financial, a division created by Facebook that was supposed to develop a digital wallet for the cryptocurrency Diem, has started negotiating with several third-party stablecoin issuers, according to The Block.
Circle and Paxos are among the potential partners. The former issues one of the largest stablecoins on the market, USD Coin (USDC), while the latter issues several tokens, including Paxos Standard (PAX), Binance USD (BUSD) and Paxos Gold (PAXG).
Both companies have recently filed detailed reports on providing adequate tools for the first time and have taken significant steps to further expand. For example, Paxos has reported that Bank of America and Founders Fund are among its investors, while Circle has recently raised $440 million and plans to access the stock market. The Block's Frank Chaparro has written:
"This may be why Paxos and Circle have been publicly attacking each other lately. They want to attract such large accounts."
It appears that Facebook is considering alternatives due to the regulatory hurdles Diem has faced.