According to reports, Facebook is reportedly planning to launch its own cryptocurrency in the first half of 2019. For this, the social media giant is exchanging words with several crypto exchange platforms to potentially list a cryptocurrency.
New York Times published a story on Thursday (28th Feb 2019) citing several efforts made by the company to introduce native cryptocurrencies that would be widely accepted using the messaging platforms. The reports from the publications also talk about Telegram and Signal joint move to roll out tokens over the next 12 months.
Last year in December, Bloomberg first reported about the development of the cryptocurrency by Facebook as a stablecoin developed for its WhatsApp messaging service.
Citing “four people briefed on the negotiations,” the New York Times revealed that the social giant has told crypto exchanges that it could expect the product to get out in the first half of 2019. The report reads –
The most anticipated but secretive project is underway at Facebook. The company is working on a coin that users of WhatsApp, which Facebook owns, could send to friends and family instantly, said five people briefed on the effort who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements…The Facebook project is far enough along that the social networking giant has held conversations with cryptocurrency exchanges about selling the Facebook coin to consumers, said four people briefed on the negotiations.
Reports are also there that Facebook has contacted with Menlo Park company to discuss the about the development and working of the stablecoin.
Facebook as of now has 2.5 billion global users which put the company in an extremely advantageous position as far as the adoption and usage of cryptocurrency is concerned. In the past few months, the company has worked closely to push forward its blockchain project. The company has also beefed up its blockchain team with a hiring push and at least one talent-minded acquisition.
Reports suggest that the social media giant is currently seeking to fill nearly 20 blockchain-related positions. The recent report from the New York Times also suggests that as of now more than 50 Facebook engineers are already dedicated to the company’s blockchain project.
