Facebook secures bank lobbyist to push cryptocurrency dominance

Facebook is intent on dominating the cryptocurrency field – or just any field, in general – and it recently hired a bank lobbyist to help it do just that. The new member of its global force for world domination is Ed Bowles and his role will be that of the director of public policy in London. Bowles worked for Standard Chartered European Head of Corporate and Public Affairs until the tech giant recruited him.

For some context as to what Facebook has planned with its cryptocurrency move, the company is set to unveil its own take on the rising trend with GlobalCoin, The Telegraph reports. As to what Bowles’ role will be, his past work as a bank lobbyist can paint a clear enough picture of his upcoming tasks. Simply put, he was an expert negotiator who handled deals between the EU and the US.

With this in mind, it would not be going too far to suggest that Bowles will be handling the difficult task of convincing everyone that GlobalCoin is a good idea and worthy of their time. This is not an enviable task, mostly because most of Facebook’s non-social media initiatives have failed to impress. In terms of its efforts in the video game, video streaming, and even e-commerce spaces, its performance has been subpar.

This is why there so much concern with regards to its push into the cryptocurrency market. The tech giant might have lofty ambitions, but whether or not it can actually achieve them is the question. This is why the acquisition of Bowles is such big news.

As for Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg himself, he recently reiterated his desire to make online payments easier for users of the social media giant. Cryptocurrency could be one way of doing this.

"I believe it should be as easy to send money to someone as it is to send a photo," the controversial tech mogul said.