David Marcus Leaving Coinbase

[amazes.co]

The decision of David Marcus to leave Coinbase after eight months in the board has sparked interest among cryptoverse people about Facebook’s new blockchain project.

The former Facebook (FB) Messenger team head was assigned to devise a new blockchain initiative in FB last May and has thus decided to step down from Coinbase a few months later. Based on TechCrunch’s report, Marcus only gave a simple answer as to why his decision. And this was his new task in FB around blockchain.

There is still no official announcement about what Facebook is trying to develop. The closest we can get to the truth is by taking note of the recent job positions they have posted. One of these is for a “Public Policy Manager, Blockchain” meaning FB is putting efforts into ensuring their entry into the cryptoverse does not conflict with state policies.

TechCrunch also has their own speculation about FB’s new move. They have outlined three possible scenarios about what the social media giant is trying to develop.

First, the idea of a coin exclusively from Facebook might be in line. THE “FaceCoin” idea might be used for any transactions related to the use of the platform. This could be for paid advertisements and analytic services since the use of blockchain bypasses transaction fees and is thus more cost-effective compared to credit card payments.

Second, cryptocurrency might be utilized for sharing funds with friends and affiliated merchants. Since FB is widely used for e-commerce as well, the employment of blockchain can make payments much easier and less costly. With hundreds of affiliated merchants all over the world, FB users might now be able to pay for goods and services through cryptocurrency. Users can also pay for bills or share funds to friends this way instead of connecting a debit or credit card.

Third and last is the possibility of using blockchain for security purposes. Since cybercrime is rampant and security is always an issue among social media platforms, the advances of blockchain technology can be the key to a safer online experience through smarter identity verifications and much better user interface designs.

On another piece from TechnologyReview this spring, if FB does decide to enter cryptocurrency, it doesn’t even need to create a new coin altogether. It can simply make a corporate version of Bitcoin or dominate it completely. This makes development quicker and FB getting it’s more than 2.2 billions users hooked into the new technology. Thus, the social media platform is just a step away from a new secure and centralized system.