Facebook to kickstart ‘GlobalCoin’ cryptocurrency in 2020
The social media network plans to launch its own cryptocurrency in around a dozen countries as early as next year.
Facebook announced on Friday that it plans to launch its own cryptocurrency, dubbed internally by the company as GlobalCoin, in the first quarter of 2020.
The new digital payments system is expected to go live in around a dozen countries, with the social media network on track to begin testing the cryptocurrency by the end of this year.
Facebook contacted Bank of England about new coin
Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg has spoken to the Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney to better understand the opportunities and risks associated with launching a new cryptocurrency, according to the BBC.
Zuckerburg has also liaised with members of the US Treasury to understand the regulatory and operational hurdles Facebook will face in launching its new GlobalCoin.
The social media network is reportedly in talks with money transfer business like Western Union and TransferWise in a bid to find working solutions for people that do not possess a bank account to send and receive money.
Facebook finally makes it move into financial services
A report released by Facebook late last year showed how Facebook was busily working on a cryptocurrency that would let users of its messaging app WhatsApp send and received money, with its new GlobalCoin being the result of its hard work.
Facebook’s foray into financial services has been on the cards for some time, with the social media network brining former PayPal president David Marcus on board to oversee WhatsApp as far back as 2014.
Earlier this month, the US Senate committee on banking penned an open letter to Zuckerburg asking the Facebook CEO to provide answer on how his new service will ensure consumers are protected and how he plans to secure users information.
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