After showing an increased interest in blockchain based technology recently, social networking giant, Facebook might already be in the process of striking a deal of selling it’s stablecoin with currently unknown crypto exchanges as per a report by the New York Times which broke the news while citing undisclosed sources.
The super secretive stablecoin in question is set to be launched for consumer use in a couple of months.
Many people initially brushed off rumours that Facebook was looking to integrate and invest crypto and blockchain technology into it’s business model, because well, it makes no sense as Facebook is a corporation that is solely run by advertising revenue. A doubt that has been echoed by many people in the past and again after the article.
If you think Facebook wants to create a coin that is decentralized, you probably believe in Santa Claus. 🎅
— A v B (@ArminVanBitcoin) March 1, 2019
They'll lay out a currency open enough to convince naive users they are adopting something akin to Bitcoin. Then they play with the internals under the radar in a way that puts them in full control. It's what they do. My take on it in MIT Tech Review: https://t.co/gQqNm57QI4
— Morgen Peck 🇺🇦 (@morgenpeck) February 28, 2019
Facebook had people speculating up a storm back in 2018 when it evaded giving any real evidence of it’s engineers toiling away at the development of what’s rumored to be a stablecoin and simply gave out a statement that said, “Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new, small team is exploring many different applications.”
Talk about beating round the bush!
The report also states that, the main reasoning behind this close collaboration with crypto exchanges is to help alleviate a little of the regulatory burden from Facebook’s shoulders as the exchanges will act as intermediaries for the company. This move might be wise as Facebook’s previous history with regulating and customer vetting isn’t the best.
The increased secrecy behind whatever Facebook is up could have something to do with the fact that their competitor, Telegram are already developing their own digital platforms. Several internal and managerial changes have also tipped people off to Facebook’s secret agenda as the firm appoint it’s former VP as head of their new blockchain department.
Back in February, CEO Mark Zuckerburg in an interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain stated that the use of blockchain technology, especially to authenticate third part apps is something he was “potentially interested in.”
