India likely to be the first country to test Facebook’s crypto token: Report

Facebook could make an official announcement on its super-secretive cryptocurrency project in the next quarter, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The details that have come to light from previous reports suggest that “Facebook Coin” will be pegged to a basket of different foreign currencies and make it easy for users to send money to each other and make online payments.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook was recruiting several financial firms and online merchants as part of its efforts to launch a cryptocurrency-based payments system. More recently, MIT professor Christian Catalini was reported to have joined the project.

Facebook’ blockchain division, which was launched last May with former PayPal president and head of Facebook Messenger David Marcus at the helm, has grown to 50 employees. A significant number of these employees have also previously worked at PayPal. The company also acquired the team behind blockchain startup Chainspace in February 2019.

Sources have also revealed that India is likely to be the first country where the new coin will be tested. Facebook Coin could eventually allow users to send money for remittances via WhatsApp. The social media behemoth is already testing regular payments in India through “WhatsApp Pay.”

While Facebook has been staffing up its blockchain division, sources said that the company is likely far from releasing the new coin.

India, on the other hand, is reportedly considering imposing a ban on cryptocurrencies. A report late last month from The Economic Times stated that the government was circulating the “Banning of Cryptocurrencies and Regulation of Official Digital Currencies Bill 2019” to relevant government departments and has started inter-ministerial consultations on the bill.