Facebook Inc. is developing a stablecoin, an altcoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, which can be used for money transfers in WhatsApp messaging app, according to insiders.
The company will focusing first on the Indian market which leads the world in remittances — people sent $69 billion home to India in 2017, and has more than 200 million WhatsApp users.
It is reported that the stablecoin, which is designed to minimize volatility of crypto transactions, is far from release. The company is still working on the strategy, including a plan for custody assets, or regular currencies that would be held to protect the value of the stablecoin.
This month, the social media giant announced that it is hiring five new staff members for blockchain team at its Menlo Park, California.
In early May, Facebook launched its blockchain team, with the reported aim of exploring the emerging technology. The team is headed by David Marcus, who had previously served as the company’s vice president of its Messenger app division. In July, Facebook’s Director of Engineering of three years, Evan Cheng, joined the blockchain team to fulfill a parallel role dedicated to exploring the technology’s applications.
