Facebook is said to be working on building a cryptocurrency that will let users transfer money on the company-owned WhatsApp messaging app, focusing first on the remittances market in India. It is said to be working on stablecoin which is a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar to minimize volatility.
Facebook is far from releasing the coin because it’s still working on the strategy, including a plan for custody assets. We saw Facebook’s hand in financial service coming after hiring former PayPal president David Marcus to run its Messenger app in 2014. Marcus in May became the head of the company’s blockchain initiatives, which haven’t been discussed publicly in detail. The company now has about 40 people in its blockchain group.
Since these are just rumors and reports, there’s no way tell if it will ever become true. Facebook which has over 2.5 billion global users, more than $40 billion in annual revenue, it has experience navigating regulatory issues, may have a better chance of making a stablecoin that sticks. If it ever launches a coin, it will be the first large technology company to launch such a project.
Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.