Facebook and Cryptocurrency
Facebook has hired cryptocurrency experts to build out its blockchain outfit. The New York Times claims Facebook is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency as early as the first half of this year.
Joining New York Times in this report is Bloomberg. They report that Facebook has several ongoing blockchain-based projects at the moment. But the one that’s most likely to launch first is a type of stablecoin. Like other stable coins Facebook’s coin will be based on a basket of currencies. An earlier report had claimed that Facebook is looking to launch a cryptocurrency to enable Whatsapp users to do remittances. So these new reports corroborate pretty well.
No one really knows how advance the project really is though. However, the coin could launch as early as the first half of 2019. When asked what the plans are for its crytocurrency, a Facebook spokesperson stated that the is “exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology.”
More importantly, Facebook’s Whatsapp platform has over 2 billion users worldwide. No doubt if this goes through, Facebook will be faced with massive security and privacy issues. Not to mention that its not been a good relationship between them law enforcement agencies in recent times.
More updates on this post will be coming soon as the details become clear about which direction Facebook wants to take.