It’s not very often that Facebook is incredibly secretive about its new products, but it would seem that a new rollout has everyone at the FB offices on their toes. Of course, anything involving Facebook is going to stir up curiosity; that’s just the name of the game at this point. So when word got out that the company was hiring for a secretive new project, speculation took hold of Silicon Valley. Before long, details of the new team started leaking out—and those who were slated to be in high positions started to distance themselves from other crypto projects. Pretty soon, it became evident that Facebook would be testing out something that had been discussed for a long time—their very own cryptocurrency.
Although details are scant at the moment, it is believed that the FB team will be testing the new crypto by using another popular platform that it owns—the popular WhatsApp. Ideally, those using the service would be able to send coins to other users, making it easy to transfer funds to a family member or friend who needs something. Obviously, the advantages of such a coin would be substantial. As one of the world’s most widely used social networks, Facebook would be able to reach a stunning array of users with its new coin.
And it’s not the only platform that is thinking this way. The Telegram and Signal apps have both indicated that they are also moving in this direction. However, Facebook vastly outnumbers any app as far as the number of users and resources goes. And from all indications, it would appear that Facebook may be much further down the road than any other platform. Meeting with a number of exchanges to determine how and when a Facebook coin might be able to be traded alongside Bitcoin and a slew of altcoins, the FB crypto team has made it known that this is no lark.
Using platforms such as Facebook, Signal and Platform may provide the impetus to solve one of crypto’s most challenging issues—adoption. Not everyone is savvy enough to know how to purchase crypto online, let alone set up a wallet and take all of the other necessary steps. Making crypto available to the masses may be the next big step—and it makes sense that Facebook is leading the charge.
Dil Bole Oberoi
