According to Bloomberg, it is rumored that Facebook is currently developing its own Stablecoin with the purpose of being implemented through Whatsapp. In its first stage, the Stablecoin will serve as a currency for remittance in India, to allow for money transfer through the messaging app. However, the project is still in its developing phase, which is why they’re continuing to analyze the financial market in order to develop a workable strategy to implement such project in the market.
It is rumored that Facebook hired the former CEO of Paypal, David Marcus, to carry on with the project. Additionally, the social network company has allegedly hired over 40 people that will join in the development of the project. According to an unknown party, Facebook is also looking for ways to take advantages of blockchain technology and implement it in its current business model. A spokesman for the company 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. We don’t have anything further to share.”
For the time being, Facebook is planning on using the Indian market to test out the project, mainly because of the huge market it offers. Whatsapp is a huge messaging app used everywhere, but especially in India with over 200 million active users. India is also one of the biggest countries when it comes to remittances, throwing in a whopping $69 billion in money transfers during 2017 alone.
If the rumors turn out to be true, Facebook could be joining a massive market. If you’ve ever tried to send money overseas, banks charge huge fees for converting and transferring money, which ends up by leaving you with a lot less money than you accounted for. Cryptocurrencies have a way of solving this issue beautifully, especially in countries with huge inflation rates like Venezuela. The project does come with its difficulties and challenges, which is probably why the company has not confirmed anything just yet but given the massive platform Facebook has at its disposal, this could turn out to be another billion dollar project for the social media giant.
