Facebook is working on a digital currency of its own and a new report claims that the company will launch it at some point next year. Internally referred to as “GlobalCoin,” the company is expected to provide more details about its cryptocurrency later this summer. It may even begin testing the GlobalCoin towards the end of this year.
According to BBC News, Facebook will provide more information about GlobalCoin later this year. It will be available in almost a dozen countries at launch where it will allow people to make secure and affordable payments without needing a bank account.
However, the coin will have to overcome many technical and regulatory hurdles before it hits the market. It’s said that Facebook has been in talks with various stakeholders on this matter, including the U.S. Treasury and money transfer firms like Western Union over regulatory and operational issues.
While Facebook hasn’t really revealed anything about its own coin so far, earlier reports have suggested that it could be designed as a stablecoin. What that means is that the coin’s value will be pegged to the U.S. dollar in a bid to limit volatility that you often see with other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
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