Facebook Plans to Launch its Cryptocurrency in the First Half of 2019: New York Times

According to a report by the New York Times, Facebook is all set to launch its own cryptocurrency in the first half of 2019. The social media giant has even spoken to cryptocurrency exchanges to potentially list its ‘Facebook Coin’. As we had reported, this cryptocurrency is being developed for its popular messaging platform Whatsapp, where it can be used to send and receive payments.

Last year, Bloomberg had reported about a possible stablecoin coming out from the Facebook stables. This has been validated by the New York Times report, but it adds that Facebook’s cryptocurrency will be pegged to a basket of fiat currencies such as Dollars, Euros and others instead of just being pegged to the US Dollar. Facebook has also set up a big team of than 50 engineers for the cryptocurrency project, led by senior executive David Marcuswho has also served on the Coinbase board.

However, an uncertain crypto regulatory environment across the globe will pose a big hurdle to Facebook. The social media giant will also have to build a robust system to ensure that the safety of its billions of users is not compromised. It will also be interesting to see how Facebook tackles the decentralisation issue as less control means it cannot generate profits out of transaction fees. Centralisation, however, is viewed with a lot of suspicion in the cryptocurrency space. Facebook has not officially confirmed reports about its cryptocurrency project.

The report also mentions other messaging platforms like ‘Telegram’ and ‘Signal’ which are developing their own cryptocurrencies. With the entry of prominent institutions such as Facebook, JP Morgan, Microsoft and Samsung, it is only a matter of time before other businesses sit up and take notice. The crypto revolution is well and truly upon us!