Facebook hasn’t been in the greatest shape of late, with concerns over its security and even the top brass’ ethics. They’ve even lost a fair amount of money in the last year-plus, and may lose more. One way they’re considering to get back in the game: By making its own currency!
On Tuesday, as per The New York Times, Facebook formally announced that they’re toying with the idea of introducing what they’ll call Libra, a brand new cryptocurrency Mark Zuckerberg hopes will make spending money as easy as sending a photo or gif. If successfully launched (and successful), it might become the largest cryptocurrency yet; after all, Facebook still has 2.4 million subscribers, even after people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez publicly quit the service.
Of course, the timing could be better. Their latest controversy involves their much-criticized decision to not remove a doctored video made to make Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi look out-of-it, prompting another giant Facebook backlash and even prankish jokes. And of course, they are a company that succumbed to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as well as failed to stop Russian bots from spreading misinformation during the 2016 presidential election.
Or will it instead be their comeback? Whatever happens, Libra is set to launch in 2020. When it does, it won’t be strictly available on Facebook; users will be able to swap money on WhatsApp and Messenger. You can read more about its ins and outs here.
(Via The New York Times)