Facebook to Reportedly Use Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers

According to sources familiar with the situation, social media giant Facebook is developing a cryptocurrency to use for WhatsApp transfers.

Bloomberg has reported that Facebook is developing a way to use the cryptocurrency to transfer money on this messenger platform in India.

The company is planning to use a digital currency called “stablecoin” rather that Bitcoin. Stablecoin is pegged to the U.S. dollar according to the sources.

It was in 2014 that the company hired on former PayPal President David Marcus and many expected that with this move, Facebook would be diving into the financial services arena. It was this past May that Facebook made Marcus the head of the company’s blockchain initiatives.

“Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology,” a Facebook spokesman said in a statement. “This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and have not been compensated for this article.