CUPERTINO – Tech giant Facebook is working on developing a cryptocurrency called Stablecoin to minimize volatility and allow its users to transfer money on its WhatsApp messaging app.
According to the report, Facebook is developing a stablecoin, which is a type of digital currency pegged to the US dollar, to minimize effects of price volatility.
However, the company is far from releasing the coin. It 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, Bloomberg reported.
According to people familiar with the matter, the token will purportedly be used for money transfers made within the app and will focus on the remittances market in India.
With more than 200 million users, WhatsApp’s biggest market in the world is India.
“Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.”
In May, David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s messaging app Messenger, had announced formation of a blockchain exploratory team at Facebook.
In an interview with Cheddar, Facebook had said it was exploring the creation of its own cryptocurrency, a virtual token that would allow its billions of users around the world to make electronic payments.
