Meta has repeatedly declared its intention to participate in the cryptocurrency market. Facebook Financial has already announced that its digital wallet will support Novi NFT. Since then, the topic of the possibility of creating NFT features along with a digital wallet has not died down, although Novi is no longer available. Let’s update our knowledges about Facebook’s wallet, come up with some basics and look through current NFT wallets alternatives.
Facebook Explores NFTs as Part of Novi Digital Wallet
Facebook executive David Marcus heads F2, or Facebook Financial, the internal group behind the company’s Novi digital wallet. David Marcus announced the launch of its new digital wallet Facebook Novi but it has not yet officially launched. Facebook Financial is planning to add a new NFT product as part of its Novi digital wallet. This move was seen as part of Facebook Financial plan to tap into digital assets gaining popularity with recent blockchain technology.
According to Bloomberg Television, Facebook Financial has been working on developing products and features related to the Ethereum blockchain since last year. However, the company is still waiting to launch it along with Diem, the digital currency formerly known as Libra. And it’s all because David Markus co-founded Diem in 2019.
What Are the NFTs Features Alongside Novi Digital Wallet
Facebook executive David Marcus said, “While we continue to post digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram, we’ve started giving people the ability to post the collectibles they own on Facebook and Instagram.”
The David Marcus idea was for people to use Facebook’s digital wallet to transfer diem to reduce expensive fees and shorten the time it takes to send money cross border. Facebook and Instagram users had to place non-fungible tokens and collectibles in their accounts by linking their wallets to them.
Novi digital wallet promised to provide descriptions of nft-related products and the ability to use Ethereum nfts as easily as US dollars. Novi wallet internal group would provide the fastest nft purchases. The company’s Novi digital wallet would be considered not only a good crypto wallet, but also the best nft wallet among all hardware wallets, if released naturally. So, what happened?
The State of the Facebook’s Digital Wallet Today
Facebook has finally unveiled its Novi digital wallet. As detailed and clearly described by Facebook executive David Marcus — a “small pilot project” was launched. However, the US judiciary has determined that Facebook cannot be trusted to manage cryptocurrencies. It demanded that David Marcus stop the pilot project immediately. Various sanctions were introduced against Facebook Financial. A strong anti-advertising campaign for Facebook’s digital wallet has taken place.
In September 2022 Facebook stopped the Novi pilot. If you have not yet withdrawn the money from your Novi account, you can contact the internal group support to transfer this money to the linked bank account and request a refund for an incorrect or unauthorized transaction.
Even if the Facebook’s digital wallet will never be released, the popularity of its idea remains unbroken. Should you trust your investment to a mainstream trend? Let us define the features and functions of an non-fungible token alongside a digital wallet.
What Is an NFT Wallet and Why Do You Need One?
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are all the rage. So are NFTs, non-fungible tokens that enable the development of digital trade in digital objects (images like “Nyan Cat” built).
Although most popular non-fungible token apps offer great options for buying and trading NFT, you still need a dedicated account or NFT wallet where you can shop all kinds of valuables. It is considered riskier to deposit your non-fungible tokens in the market where you bought it, as many NFT marketplaces use centralized functional systems.NFT wallets use decentralized storages as Arweave or DeNet to store NFT metadata. That assures you will keep your non-fungible tokens safely.
These are more vulnerable to attacks from hackers, which pose a threat to token owners. When you set up an NFT account in the marketplace, you then transfer it back to the wallet and keep it for longer periods of time. In general, NFT wallets are designed specifically for this purpose and often have advanced security features.
NFT Trend — What Can You Use It For?
NFT is like a digital certificate of ownership of something unique and immutable. With NFT, I can prove that I am the owner. Currently, a lot of money is paid for tokens in the form of digital art and collectibles. We are convinced that digital collectibles will be of constant interest in an increasingly mobile society. In addition, tokens can also be used in the area of customer loyalty and play a central role in the metaverse.
How To Buy an NFT in the NFT Wallet?
With good digital assets storage, such as an NFT wallet, you can store cryptocurrencies and NFTs. To buy non-fungible tokens, you need cryptocurrency. For example, Ethereum or BNB coin — it all depends on what exactly NFT you want to buy.
How Does NFT Wallets Work
The NFT wallet handles the most complicated tasks in the background to ensure that the user experience remains seamless. Since tokens have a place in the blockchain and their metadata such as pictures, audio, video are stored in the cloud storages, wallets can only hold their NFT locations.
They usually guarantee the same as regular crypto wallets:
- Independence: blockchain technologies are not only available globally and valid everywhere.
- Transparency: transactions are based on blockchain technology. The exact time of the transaction, the amount, the fees paid and the addresses involved are recorded in the blockchain.
- Security: blockchain transactions cannot be deleted or changed. They have no equivalent.
- Speed: A transaction takes place within a few seconds, regardless of whether bitcoins worth one euro or a billion euros are sent.
More and more companies, as well as foundations and organizations, are accepting digital currency as a means of payment. As tech giants gradually open up to this market, it is probably only a matter of time before we can pay almost everywhere with Bitcoin, NFT or Ethereum.
NFT Wallet Blockchains
A crucial factor when choosing a digital wallet is the support of different NFT blockchain technologies and their features. The most popular NFT chains are Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Cardano and Tezos.
For this reason, the storage we recommend should be supported by the specific blockchain standard where your NFT is stored.
If you purchased Ethereum, you will need a crypto wallet that supports this standard. If your wallet does not support a token standard, then it will not be able to store your NFT data.
Types of NFT Wallets
NFT wallets can usually be downloaded by phone or online, but some offer browser version.
With an NFT wallet, you can easily store cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens in a safe place. It is important to note that there is a so-called hot wallet and a cold wallet.
A cold wallet has the following features:
- Hacker attacks are not possible here because the wallet does not work over an Internet connection.
- It is suitable for the safe storage of cryptocurrencies and NFTs in any case.
- However, the costs for acquiring the devices are relatively high.
A hot wallet related features:
- Connected to the Internet, so hacking is possible.
- Suitable for regular trading of cryptocurrencies and NFT.
- It is mostly free to use (mobile and desktop).
Most investors in the early stages tend to opt for a hot wallet, which makes sense. However, if you are investing for the long term, it may make sense to have a hot and a cold wallet. Or you can and should even have multiple hot wallets to trade multiple NFT markets.
Top NFT Wallets Review
As with most cryptocurrencies, the best NFT wallets allow for easy storage of crypto and token coins. Let us dig deeper into the deposit wallets to learn more about their features to get a more thorough understanding of what they can offer.
1. Coinbase
Coinbase is not only known as a good crypto wallet, but also one of the best token digital assets storages. Here is why Coinbase allows you to send and receive NFTs under a username instead of a public address. With this username, you have almost the same flexibility with NFT transactions as you do with PayPal transactions.
The Coinbase app also supports most of the cryptocurrencies you are familiar with: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, and the ERC-20 token.
Among the disadvantages: Minimum deposit required.
2. MetaMask
The new and simple MetaMask interface allowed collecting tokens and interacting with other decentralized applications. MetaMask helps you create an Ethereum wallet that you can connect for trading and mining.
MetaMask is not only very easy to use, but also to sync transactions – whether on a smartphone or on a computer. The mobile version of MetaMask also has its own browser for exploring NFT and DeFi applications.
Disadvantages: Only Ethereum-based tokens available.
3. Alpha Wallet
“Alpha” is an open source blockchain wallet based on Ethereum. You can collect non-fungible tokens, store nfts, hold nfts and get nft support and coins.
There are also some apps that are directly supported by AlphaWallet. These include OpenSea and CryptoKitties. Alpha app as a defi wallet app also guarantees compatibility with all Ethereum-based assets. The built-in Web3 browser can also be used to explore other DeFi and decentralized apps.
Disadvantages: AlphaWallet is only available as an app.
4. Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet is a mobile software app. You can easily store all your crypto collectibles including Axies, CryptoKitties, CryptoPunks, and Decentraland.
Trust Wallet also offers integration with popular public networks like Binance Smart Chain or Ethereum. Probably the most promising option of Trust Wallet is one-click access to token applications. In the long run, interoperability with various blockchain networks could also be a great opportunity.
Disadvantages: Trust Wallet cannot be used to make NFT transfers. However, users can store and manage their assets on the platform.
5. Wallet Enjin
Enjin is based on blockchain technology. Users can access various types of Ethereum-based decentralized applications with just one click. This includes, for example, DeFi applications. Enjin also has customer support. Most other providers do not offer this. There is also a marketplace where you can trade digital assets. When doing so, you need to use the native token of the Enjin project, i.e. ENJ.
How To Choose the Best NFT Wallet for You?
Let us explain some important aspects you should consider when creating a wallet with NFT technology.
- It supports cryptocurrencies and NFT storage.
- NFT wallet should be easy to use.
- The NFT wallet provider allows you to use it from your smartphone and computer.
- The most important thing about most NFT wallets is that you can buy Ethereum.
- Good NFT wallet supports multiple blockchains
Can You Store an NFT in a Crypto Wallet?
Consumers support NFTs, but please note that it is best for the user not to store tokens and cryptos in a wallet. Instead, a digital assets storage guarantees access via a private key. The secret key means that you have a legal right to all the information stored at your encrypted address.
Summary
After all, considering the NFTs features alongside digital wallet, we can say that non-fungible tokens are gaining popularity for a reason. It is not just a trend, but a promising technology that will be as familiar to all of us as scrolling through photos on Instagram. Besides, Instagram users soon will be able to post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain or from wallets that support the Ethereum or Polygon blockchains. They will be able to connect digital wallets to their accounts. Who knows, maybe there we will find Novi wallet?
