Facebook Foray Into Crypto Currency; A Huge Boost To The Digital Assets Space; Say Analysts

Facebook’s entry into the digital currency market has given a huge boost to the industry and Bitcoin, the oldest digital currency said that this step will legitimize the field and make it easy for crypto currencies to buy other digital assets. Experts say that this development will also encourage large financial investors to get out of the waiting mode and try their hand trading.

Facebook’s entry has the potential to become a significant catalyst for adoption of bitcoin and crypto currency by technology industry. News agencies like Bloomberg and WSJ have reported about Facebook developing its digital currency to allow users to spend for products on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Some analysts expect Facebook to announce the plan this week and in anticipation of the news Bitcoin has already rallied above $9000 while shares of Facebook also witnessed an upswing of 3 % in anticipation of the announcement.

Former executive of PayPal David Marcus has been hired by Facebook to start exploring opportunities with block-chain which is the backbone technology for bitcoin and other crypto-currencies in the market. As per data available with social networking platform LinkedIn around 100 odd people are working on Facebook’s digital currency project and the headcount is likely to grow. Reports also suggest that Facebook is planning to set up ATM type machines to enable users to buy the currency and employees can collect their salaries in the form of new currency from these machines. The entry of Facebook into this market will enable average people also to buy crypto currencies which till recently could be purchased only through exchanges like Gemini and Coinbase or apps. US regulators till now have been hesitant about approving crypto-currency products as an exchange citing cases of hacks and potential for misuse. Facebook’s advt. model has also invited criticism from privacy advocates of Washington for its use of detailed information of users.