Hoping to invest in the next Bitcoin? Keep an eye on Facebook. No, but really. According to a Cheddar report, the company is hard at work on its own cryptocurrency.
Cheddar, citing sources familiar with the matter, claims that Facebook users could use the new "digital token" to buy and sell through the platform. The social network is also "exploring other ways" that it could use such a currency.
Mark Zuckerberg announced in January that Facebook planned to "go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects of" new technologies such as cryptocurrency.
Four months later, it seems his vision is coming to fruition. Earlier this week, Facebook announced that its head of Messenger, David Marcus, would spearhead a group researching potential uses of blockchain across Facebook's platforms. Marcus is a former Paypal president and CEO, and a member of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase's board of directors, so it's pretty clear what they're going for here.
We're a bit puzzled as to why exactly Facebook would want to create a new currency, but it would certainly make it easier for customers in different countries to buy and sell through the platform without extra conversion fees. It could also be a transaction resource for Facebook buyers in countries with more volatile currencies.
At least, that may be what Facebook tells us in order to pass this all off as a project for the greater good. Of course, it's also likely to come with a transaction fee, so we're guessing it won't hurt Facebook's bottom line.