Bloomberg: Facebook is Working on Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Payments

Facebook is said to have early plans to introduce a stablecoin, a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the dollar. The company would like to make payments via WhatsApp possible in this way, starting in India.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the plans, the cryptocoin’s introduction is still a long way off and Facebook is still determining its strategy. Among other things, the company is still looking at how it can guarantee the stability of the value.

In a response to various sites, Facebook reports that it is indeed investigating how blockchain technology can be used. According to the site, this is a new small team exploring many different applications. In recent weeks, several reports have appeared about Facebook recruiting new employees for the blockchain team.

The team, founded in April, would now consist of 40 people, according to Cheddar. The team is led by David Marcus, formerly president of PayPal and vice president of Facebook Messenger. He is said to have persuaded several former colleagues at PayPal to make the move to Facebook.

It’s not the first time Facebook has experimented with virtual currencies. In 2009, the social networking service already introduced Facebook Credits, including as part of Farmville, but those digital coins did not catch on.