ZenGo crypto wallet has announced the support for Facebook’s Libra testnet which gives its users a first-hand experience of using Facebook’s native cryptocurrency.
Facebook announced its native cryptocurrency Libra in June 2019 scheduled to launch next year in early 2020. However, apart from its native crypto wallet Calibra, Libra is already getting the support of third-party crypto wallets, even before its launch.
On Sunday, August 18, Israel-based developer ZenGo said that its crypto wallet will support Libra upon launch. ZenGo is a non-custodial cryptocurrency app wallet available on the iOS platform. The wallet allows its users to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin through Apple Pay or credit cards.
ZenGo has already released the test version of Libra on its crypto wallet, without any real monetary value. The official announcement reads that just like any other cryptocurrency, ZenGo users can send and receive Facebook’s Libra.
Experimenting the Use of Libra
To experiment using Libra, users can turn on the Libra testnet from their Account Tab in the wallet. But if you also want to try you need to make sure that your wallet is backed so that you can receive your first Libra tokens for testing. In the official announcement, ZenGo writes:
“Getting to know it early might spark some new ideas and give you a head start for when Libra becomes truly operational. Facebook is developing its own wallet Calibra, but it’s not publicly available yet. When it does become available it will be a custodial wallet, meaning that Facebook will have full control over the funds stored in it. But that will not be the only option. That’s why we’re offering Libra in ZenGo a non-custodial that people will have the option to choose.”
In the blog post, ZenGo has already warned that the Libra testnet is currently in the experimental phase. Hence it could be periodically reset for upgrades and maintenance during which “all the data on the network gets reset along with all transaction history and balances.”
Facebook’s Rocky Ride
While some third-party crypto wallet service providers are putting their trust in Facebook’s Libra, the social media giant has a long way to go convincing regulators. Ever since the announcement, Facebook has been having a pretty tough time negotiating with the lawmakers trying to explain to them the benefits of using a cryptocurrency.
Moreover, Facebook’s indirect involvement in last year Cambridge Analytica scandal and poor data handling has made a big dent on the company’s reputation. Looking to the massive scale of the Libra Project, regulators are still not convinced if Facebook can pull off such a huge project without compromising on their customer data and money.
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