Facebook is allegedly filling its cryptocurrency team with former PayPal executives. Facebook’s David Marcus has announced that many former members of PayPal Holdings, Inc. have joined the company’s cryptocurrency division, pushing its plans for Facebook Coin further towards reality.
Two Big Tech Companies Come Together
The social media conglomerate has been preparing to launch its new cryptocurrency for some time. Ironically, the company had previously banned all cryptocurrency-based advertisements in January 2018 but is now rolling the ban back as it moves deeper into the cryptocurrency space.
In addition, PayPal has stated that while it doesn’t see bitcoin as the future of finance, it is looking for opportunities to enter the blockchain arena and commit to blockchain-related projects. It appears both companies can potentially benefit from each other in this case.
Marcus previously owned a company known as Zong, which he sold to PayPal’s San Jose office back in 2011. He also spent three years working as the company’s executive of mobile products. He left PayPal in 2014 to serve with Facebook and lead the company’s Messenger app.
Since mid-2018, it is alleged that Marcus has approached about 50 current or former members of PayPal to assist him with Facebook’s new crypto project. Among the employees he’s spoken to are PayPal’s former vice president of brand and communications Christina Smedley. Christina joined Marcus at Facebook four years ago in 2015. She is now in charge of brand and marketing efforts with the social media company’s blockchain department.
Marcus has also brought Tomer Barel on board, who spent roughly nine years as an executive with PayPal. He ultimately stepped away from his position as the executive vice president and global chief enterprise services officer to join Facebook as its new “vice president of risk and operations for blockchain.”
In addition, Facebook’s blockchain projects have also been joined by former PayPal general counsel John Muller, who had worked with the payment processing company since the year 2000. The projects are also being headed by two former directors of PayPal – Meron Colbeci and Nate Gonzalez.
Facebook’s cryptocurrency will allegedly work by allowing people to buy goods and services being offered by the social media conglomerate. They can also use it to purchase items from other merchants that permit Facebook logins on their websites.
When Will the Coin Be Available?
Facebook Coin will allegedly be a stable currency, meaning it will be tied to the U.S. dollar. This is designed to alleviate it of any vulnerability to price swings and volatility, which are consistently witnessed amongst more mainstream cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether tokens.
It is expected that Facebook Coin will be released to users as early as the next quarter. That means the currency may be available by the summer or fall months of 2019.