When it comes to Facebook and its crypto initiatives, it seems everyone wants a little piece of the action.
More Companies Pledging Money to Facebook Coin
According to one source, the company’s newly announced “Libra Network” has garnered about $40 million from companies such as Visa, Mastercard, Uber and PayPal ($10 million each). Libra is a project that will allow users of Facebook to purchase goods and services with Facebook Coin through the social media platform, as well as through merchants’ websites that offer Facebook login options.
At press time, it is believed that Libra will be announced as early as next week, while the currency will go into circulation sometime next year. Facebook Coin will also be a stable currency, meaning it will be tied to the U.S. dollar and therefore less vulnerable to the price swings often associated with mainstream forms of crypto such as bitcoin and Ethereum.
Up to this point, facts and figures surrounding Libra have been somewhat secretive. It’s now being said that several investors, from venture capital firms and e-commerce projects to telecom industries have pledged money towards the project and are assisting in its development. Together, these organizations are likely to form an association that will govern how the coin is used in the future. It’s still possible, however, that the final tally of investors will change.
Among the other companies that have signed on to work on the project include Stripe, a fintech firm; Booking.com, which assists in travel reservations, and Mercado Libre, an e-commerce platform.
Not everyone is excited about the upcoming release of either Libra or Facebook Coin. Recently, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was grilled by Senate members over how the company plans to keep the financial data of its customers safe and secure. The company’s reputation was stained last year after it was revealed that Facebook had been selling private customer information to Cambridge Analytica and other third parties for advertising purposes.
Can the Company Keep Things Secure?
This time, however, it’s not just names and birthdays that Facebook will have control of. It will have access to people’s individual financial data, which could easily put them at risk should it ever fall into the wrong hands. Senate members are very curious to know how Zuckerberg and his team plan to keep this data private.
In this way, Facebook Coin is something of an enigma, serving both a positive and a negative purpose. It can be argued that users will likely face certain risks by utilizing the coin for purchases. At the same time, the currency will also be a huge push towards legitimacy for the crypto industry. The fact that one of the biggest tech companies in the world has caught the crypto bug is a huge sign that digital assets are becoming far more mainstream than anyone could have predicted.