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.
