Journalist: ‘Facebook Wants External Funding for its Cryptocurrency’

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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June 26, 2023

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A writer for the New York Times says Facebook may be seeking USD 1 billion in external funding for its forthcoming cryptocurrency – and claims the social media giant could seek to peg the value of its token to “a basket of foreign currencies.”

Nathaniel Popper, who regularly writes for the newspaper on cryptocurrency-related matters made the claims in a series of tweets.

Facebook was not available for immediate comment.

Popper claimed he had spoken to “sources” about the matter, although he did not specify whether or not the individuals he talked to were Facebook staff.

He added, “One person I spoke with said that Facebook is talking about using the money as collateral for its cryptocurrency. Facebook has been designing the coin to keep a stable value, pegged to a basket of foreign currencies held in bank accounts.”

Popper also addressed the most logical question in all this: Why would Facebook – one of the richest companies in the world – seek outside funding for a token launch?

He tweeted, “One of the big allures of blockchain projects is the decentralization. Getting outside investors could help Facebook present the project as more decentralized and less controlled by Facebook.”

Popper wrote in February about Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, claiming the company has already entered into dialogue with exchanges about possible listing opportunities. His latest claims have sparked a flurry of questions and speculation among the international crypto-community.

Social media platforms appear to have aggressively targeted cryptocurrency projects this year. Facebook’s Russian-language counterpart VKontakte (also known as VK) appears to be pushing ahead with a cryptocurrency project of its own. Telegram’s Gram token, and its new TON blockchain platform, meanwhile, are both forthcoming – and raised significant amounts of money via two rounds of private external funding.

In Japan, e-commerce giant Rakuten is hoping to launch a token via its Viber chat app, while East Asian internet companies Naver and Kakao are also said to be keen on possible token launches.

Facebook has been significantly expanding its blockchain operations in recent months, although the company has remained tight-lipped about the precise details of its plans. You can read more about the possible implications of a Facebook coin here.