It will allow users to transfer money on WhatsApp, which Facebook owns. It will first focus on India’s remittances market. To reduce volatility, the currency will be a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency that’s pegged to a traditional currency—in this case, the U.S. dollar. (Bloomberg)
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It will allow users to transfer money on WhatsApp, which Facebook owns. It will first focus on India’s remittances market. To reduce volatility, the currency will be a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency that’s pegged to a traditional currency—in this case, the U.S. dollar. (Bloomberg)
Talking point: The move would make Facebook the largest company to wade into the commercial crypto space. The coin won’t be released any time soon, though, as the company is still working on the strategy. Facebook’s foray into financial services has been expected since it hired David Marcus, former PayPal president, in 2014 to run its Messenger app. Marcus became the head of its blockchain initiatives in May, though details about the division still haven’t been publicly discussed. Facebook has hired about 40 people in its blockchain group, according to LinkedIn. WhatsApp has more than 200 million users in India; the country also leads the world in remittances, with US$69 billion sent home in 2017, according to the World Bank.
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