ambcrypto.com
The Facebook cryptocurrency project, now titled Global Coin, will hit the market earlier than expected. According to a report by The Information, the Menlo Park-based company’s foray into the digital assets world, backed by some sort of stablecoin-mix, will be introduced in June. This would be way ahead of its previously scheduled launch date in 2020.
Global Coin will be primarily channeled through Facebook’s premier messaging acquisition, WhatsApp, which users can use to send digital assets between accounts. In addition to the retail application of Global Coin, it will also be used to disseminate salary payments to the social media giant’s employees.
Deviating from the norm of the larger cryptocurrency space, where a purchase is completed only via online means, Facebook will also have ATM-esque physical portals to purchase the Global Coin, allowing increased access. The report added that parties will also be allowed into the Global Coin network, acting as “nodes” in the project, a place which will cost the parties a whopping $10 million each.
Since the first rumours of the Global Coin (previously, Facebook Coin) project began to surface, the social media giant began securing ties with key stakeholders in the space. It was reported that Facebook was in talks with payment providers, cryptocurrency exchanges, regulatory bodies, and other important players in the finance and technology space for its listing requirements.
Facebook’s Global Coin project began with the notable acquisition of PayPal’s former President, David Marcus, who joined the company as Vice President of Messaging Products.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, had previously highlighted payments as a key frontier for the future of the company, while the Global Coin project was building a head of steam in the cryptocurrency world. However, it should be noted that this digital assets project will be backed by fiat currency. This will be either a standalone currency, like the US Dollar or a basket of currencies to account for the fluctuation.
The Global Coin will reportedly exist on a computer network that would be decentralized, so that the issuing company does not have undue influence over the cryptocurrency.