According to a new report, Facebook has gone ahead with its biggest executive shakeup in the company’s 15-year history this week and has appointed new heads for WhatsApp, Messenger, and the main Facebook app. Other longtime executives have been given additional responsibilities one of which includes heading a new blockchain division that the company has quietly set up.
Facebook hasn’t really detailed its plans for blockchain but CEO Mark Zuckerberg did mention in a Facebook post some four months ago that he wants the company to “go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects of” cryptocurrencies, the digital currencies that are based on the blockchain technology.
Facebook has built a new team that’s dedicated to blockchain technology, according to Recode, which adds that David Marcus will be running this division. Marcus was previously in charge of Facebook Messenger and he’s leaving that post to look after the affairs of the new blockchain division.
Marcus revealed this himself in a post on Facebook, saying that he’s now taking on a new challenge which involves “setting up a small group to explore how to best leverage Blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch.” It merits mentioning here that Marcus has considerable experience in the digital payments space given that he was previously the CEO of PayPal.
Blockchain enthusiasts will certainly be keeping a close eye on how Facebook intends to use this technology on its massive platform.
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