Meta, or Facebook as it was known at the time, tried to make a play at cryptocurrency with its Libra and Calibra offerings, both of which came to a swift end as a result of increasing scrutiny and regulatory hurdles.
That has not stopped the company from looking into digital currency, however, as a Financial Times (paywall) report notes that Meta is indeed aiming to develop another digital currency, which employees working on the project have dubbed Zuck Bucks.
We really hope the name does not stick and we will likely see something like Metacoin being trademarked soon, but the more interesting element of this report is what Meta would do with Zuck Bucks.
Don’t expect the digital currency to be vying for attention in the same spaces as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the Financial Times noting that they could be used as some sort of in-service or in-platform token.
“Instead, Meta is leaning towards introducing in-app tokens that would be centrally controlled by the company, similar to those used in gaming apps such as the Robux currency in popular children’s game Roblox,” the publication writes.
This immediately makes us think of the metaverse, which Meta is seemingly trying to horde to itself and an official in-game currency or token could go a long way to making that happen.
Whether people would want to swap their hard earned cash for a digital token that is only redeemable within the Meta-built metaverse is unclear, but having its won currency would add a level of legitimacy to a persistent digital environment. It also opens up several avenues for collaborations with brands and the purchase of digital-only products.
This brings us to another element within the Financial Times report, with NFTs being an aspect that the company is looking at. There is even talk of a pilot launching in mid-May focusing on Facebook users and grouping them, based on NFT ownership.
It remains to be seen what comes of all this as Meta clearly has many irons in the fire of late, but it is clear its ambitions remain on being the destination when it comes to the metaverse in future.
[Image – Photo by Muhammad Asyfaul on Unsplash]
[Source – The Financial Times]
