Multiple sources are expecting Facebook to launch its stablecoin on June 18, IT and fintech magazine TechCrunch reported on June 6.
Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication added strength to existing suggestions from both within and outside the company that its secretive cryptocurrency project would appear this month.
Previously, rumors had suggested it would be 2020 before Facebook made a commitment to bring its product, which should focus on remittances, to market.
“It’s currently scheduled for a June 18th release of a white paper explaining its cryptocurrency’s basics,” TechCrunch states.
That date had also come from Laura McCracken, Facebook’s Head of Financial Services & Payment Partnerships for Northern Europe, who said in an interview with German finance magazine Wirtschaftswoche this week the stablecoin would not only involve a U.S. dollar peg.
“The value of Facebook Coin will be secured with a basket of fiat currencies,” she told the publication.
Facebook has caused an industry-wide stir with its noises about entry into the payments sector. Not just the social media platform, but sister companies WhatsApp and Instagram would also participate, executives said.
Criticism of such projects nonetheless remains, most recently coming from U.S. ratings agency Weiss Ratings, which in a dedicated blog post claimed tech firms’ ultimate goal was not to broaden the appeal of cryptocurrency, but to take business away from the banks.
“Longer term, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now in a long-term bull market. And one key reason is their powerful potential to truly disrupt the financial system as we know it today,” developer Juan Villaverde wrote.
“Still, many analysts don’t see it that way. They think it’s apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Alipay that could challenge the global financial system, even ‘replacing banks’ with their new payment platforms.” The post noted:
“I believe that’s a collective delusion. Truth be told, they’re not replacing banks; they’re becoming banks.”
