Meta Platforms is preparing to integrate cryptocurrencies into its family of apps, with the goal of using them to reward creators and to facilitate lending and other financial activities.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Meta is considering creating “Zuck Bucks,” a virtual currency that consumers can use across its apps, as the British lender expands its presence in the $800 billion virtual reality sector.
The metaverse is a network of three-dimensional virtual environments dedicated to social interaction.
It is sometimes characterized in science fiction as a potential iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual environment made possible by the usage of virtual and augmented reality headsets.
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Another Try For Meta
Although Meta (Facebook’s parent company) recently abandoned ambitions to build the Libra/Diem stablecoin, it appears as though the business is still interested in developing crypto for application in the virtual world.
What remained of the company’s Diem stablecoin project was sold earlier this year to Silvergate Bank. According to the Financial Times, Meta does not envision a blockchain-based digital money, but rather in-app tokens that are centrally controlled by the company.
Though not officially named Zuck Bucks, the initiative was purportedly given this moniker by internal personnel as a nod to Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.
The FT report also discloses potential plans for so-called reputation tokens, social tokens, and creator coins, citing internal memos and unnamed sources.
BTC total market cap at $855.56 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Anything Can Still Happen
The publication cautions, however, that the deliberations are still in their infancy and “may change or be canceled.”
“Today, we have no developments,” a Meta representative told Mashable.
“As a company, we are focused on designing for the metaverse, which includes the future of payments and financial services,” the representative explained.
If successful, the effort could also provide the company with a new revenue stream and increased control over transactions across its suite of apps and services, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and the Meta Quest virtual reality platform.
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The FT reported that efforts to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into Facebook and Instagram are progressing. Additionally, an internal document suggests that Instagram will soon support NFTs, and that a test program for posting NFTs on Facebook will begin in the middle of May.
Meta joined the Crypto Open Patent Alliance earlier this year, a collection of companies chaired by Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc committed to promoting open access to cryptocurrency technologies.
Featured image from Financial Times, chart from TradingView.com