WSJ: Facebook Seeks Reported $1 Billion for FB Coin Amid Talks With Visa, MasterCard

Saturday, May 04, 2019 / 07:37 AM / By William Suberg of CoinTelegraph / Header Image Credit: Bitcoin Exchange Guide

Social media giant Facebook is seeking investments worth $1 billion for its rumored cryptocurrency stablecoin, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on May 3. 

Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication revealed Facebook was currently talking to major payment networks Visa and MasterCard about potential support, along with payment processor First Data Corp. 

The cryptocurrency project, dubbed “FB Coin,” has fuelled rumors for around a year that Facebook wants to provide in-house payments to users. As more information trickles down to the outside, it appears various options are under consideration by executives, including payments via a user’s Facebook profile. 

“Facebook is also talking to e-commerce companies and apps about accepting the coin, and would seek smaller financial investments from those partners, one of the people said,” the WSJ added. 

As Cointelegraph reported, interest in a fiat-centric FB Coin has already reportedly come from within cryptocurrency circles, specifically in the form of VC investment mogul Tim Draper. 

Last month, plans surfaced that Draper, who is a well-known bitcoin (BTC) bull and supporter of altcoin Tezos (XTZ), would meet with Facebook to discuss investment options. 

According to the WSJ sources, however, the huge fiat backing is further deliberately designed to remove perceived doubts about FB Coin versus bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Volatility, they said, should be avoided in order to boost uptake.

Related News

1.       JPMorgan Chase Unveils the First Digital Coin by a Bank

2.      Blockchain Africa Conference 2019

3.      Why Central Bank Digital Currencies Will Destroy Cryptocurrencies

4.      Expectations Of Further US SEC Actions Against Token Exchanges After EtherDelta

5.      The Big Blockchain Lie

6.      Coinbase Is Shutting Down Its Fund Aimed At Big Investors As It Pivots To A New Retail Product

7.      Crypto is the Mother of All Scams, While Blockchain Is The Most Over-Hyped Technology Ever

8.     FSB Sets Out Potential Financial Stability Implications From Crypto-Assets

9.      Broker Charged With Fraud And Unlawful Distribution Of Unregistered Cryptocurrency Securities

10.  Quidax Launches in Nigeria

11.   Barclays Files Two Digital Currency and Blockchain Patents with U.S. Patent Office

12.  Bond Yields Compress on Renewed Local Client Demand

13.  Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies, and Distributed Ledger Technologies: What Are We Learning?

14.  Gemini Becomes First Currency Exchange To Receive NY DFS Approval For Cryptocurrencies Trading

15.   Cryptocurrency Derivatives to Test Clearinghouses, Banks

16.  Four Entities Demonstrate Feasibility Of Instantaneous Equity Settlement Through DLT

17.   Blockchain Co-inventor Joins Australian Blockchain Investment Mgt Firm, First Digital Capital

18.  Switzerland Wants To Be The World Capital of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and ICOs

19.  Does Blockchain Represent a Paradigm Shift for Insurance?

20. Cryptocurrencies Set For Another Surge In Prices. Here’s Why