Facebook developing cryptocurrency for WhatsApp transfers

Facebook is working on making a cryptocurrency that will let users transfer money on its WhatsApp messaging app, focusing first on the remittances market in India, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.

The company is developing a stablecoin -- a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar -- to minimize volatility.

Facebook is far from releasing the coin, because it’s still working on the strategy, including a plan for custody assets, or regular currencies that would be held to protect the value of the stablecoin, the people said. Facebook has long been expected to make a move in financial services, after hiring former PayPal president David Marcus to run its Messenger app in 2014. In May, Marcus became the head of the company’s blockchain initiatives, which haven’t been discussed publicly in detail. Facebook has been on a hiring spree, and now has about 40 people in its blockchain group.

A Facebook spokesman said that, like many other companies, Facebook was exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology and that the new small team was exploring many different applications. WhatsApp, the company’s encrypted mobile-messaging app, is popular in India, with more than 200 million users.

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