Does Facebook plan to launch its own cryptocurrency?

Could launching a cryptocurrency be the next big move for the social media giant? We asked Gavin Brown, Lecturer in Financial Economics, what he thinks.

Despite recent controversies, it seems unlikely that Facebook’s global domination is going to come to an end anytime soon.

Since launching in 2004, the site has accumulated over 2 billion active users across the world, with a staggering five new profiles created every second.

However, could launching its own cryptocurrency be the next big move for the social media giant? It certainly seems like something Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO is considering for 2018:

“I’m interested to go deeper and study the positive and negative aspects of these financial technologies, and how best to use them in our services,” wrote Zuckerberg earlier this year on his own Facebook profile.

We spoke to our resident expert Gavin Brown, Lecturer in Financial Economics, about what he thinks on the matter: