Facebook's Cryptocurrency Could Be a $19 Billion Revenue Opportunity, Barclays Says (gizmodo.com) 65
Barclays internet analyst Ross Sandler says the new cryptocurrency that Facebook is working on could be part of a multibillion-dollar revenue opportunity. "Sandler forecasted as much as $19 billion in additional revenue by 2021 from 'Facebook Coin,'" reports CNBC. "Conservatively, the firm sees a base-case of an incremental $3 billion in revenue from a successful cryptocurrency implementation. 'Merely establishing this revenue stream starts to change the story for Facebook shares in our view,' Sandler said." From the report: Facebook is reportedly developing a cryptocurrency for global payments that will be tied to the value of traditional currencies and available to use through its messenger "WhatsApp," according to Bloomberg and The New York Times. Facebook has not publicly commented on the reports. Price volatility has been one major roadblock to bitcoin's widespread adoption as an everyday payment option. But Facebook's digital currency, a "stable coin," would likely be less attractive to speculators because of its fixed price tied to a currency like the U.S. dollar.
"Any attempt to build out revenue streams outside of advertising, especially those that don't abuse user privacy are likely to be well-received by Facebook's shareholders," Sandler said. Barclays based its Facebook revenue estimates off of Google's digital distribution service, which is also the official app store for Android's operating system. "Google Play," as it's called, generates $6 in "net" revenue per user now. Facebook could see a "similar cadence," across its nearly 3 billion users in 2021. A Facebook virtual currency would allow for more premium content to find its way back to Facebook, Sandler said, as companies re-establish themselves on the social network as a strategic partner.
"Any attempt to build out revenue streams outside of advertising, especially those that don't abuse user privacy are likely to be well-received by Facebook's shareholders," Sandler said. Barclays based its Facebook revenue estimates off of Google's digital distribution service, which is also the official app store for Android's operating system. "Google Play," as it's called, generates $6 in "net" revenue per user now. Facebook could see a "similar cadence," across its nearly 3 billion users in 2021. A Facebook virtual currency would allow for more premium content to find its way back to Facebook, Sandler said, as companies re-establish themselves on the social network as a strategic partner.
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
They can't even manage to keep my email address private, now I'm going to trust my finances to their imaginary currency that nobody wants? Sure thing. Let me sign up for that right away.
I wonder what the pitch is: "It's like US dollars, except only online, and harder to spend."
Can't wait until we have entire exchanges based on made-up , house-brand currency. Facebook Dollars, Amazon Samoleans, Starbucks Bucks. I feel like people have tried building a system of imaginary currency before. Can't recall the name because why would anyone know the name of that any more.
Re: Good (Score:1)
America has a history of doing stuff like this in poorer regions. They had companies that build towns and empoyed all the men in them and payed them with company backed money which only had value in company stores.
There was very little if any oversight and practically zero regulation so companies were free to set the value of the currency to whatever they liked. They usually liked to set it extremely low and by the end of the practise when the US Federal Reserve was set up, it wasn't uncommon for money valu
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You realize USD is the same scam writ large, right?
No, there won't be a 50:1 fluctuation in a week but the people with the money dictate the policy/use/availability/value of that same money. They're just doing it on a much bigger scale so the 49.99999:50 fluctuation still makes them oodles of money and Joe Q. Public never even sees it.
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I think it was one government. We're all OK with one company doing it because yay for free markets111oneeleven1!!!!
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Yep. Think "Paypal", not "Bitcoin" and you'll be a lot closer.
Does the world need another Paypal? Not really but an awful lot of people have Whatsapp open right now so if this makes it quick/easy to send money then Paypal should be worried.
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3-Switching Americans over to a private currency would make tax evasion so much harder for the IRS to track.
Actually it would make it more easy. Every coin knows who the previous owners were and how it got split and transferred to other owners.
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FB and google know more about you than your life-long best friend. They will 100% know which wallet(s) are yours if you used some sponsored crypto or similar...and hell, they could probably figure out which 'anonymous' crypto wallets belong to you too if they saw even semi-regular usage.
You think sharing this info with the IRS won't be a base requirement for the existence of 'FB Coin'?
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So Venmo. Or paypal (sorta, they're the worst combination of all possible things)
And then go to asia with things like GrabPay and more.
Last I checked none of these were crypto, yet they're wildly popular in use even if some reputations vary. The problem with crypto is it's very selling point - there's no central authority to manage things, build a platform for END USERS, and work on adoption or stability. People will adopt based on ease of use, trending, and utility over a pipe-dream political statement
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Mod up, it is a valid concern.
But it is also never too late to come back from the dark side. It wouldn't be easy to bring the empire into the light along with you. However slim the chance you can take all this at face value. Being skeptical is definitely understandable but enough people need to be open to the possibility for there to be one. If you don't leave people a chance their only option will be to own and embrace the villainous character you've created for them.
BS (Score:1)
No way Google Play is making $6 net revenue per user.
Winklevos' ghost (Score:3)
What happens when you cross one of the largest companies on the planet and a new currency?
As much as 'social media' changed the face of democracy in the last few years, this could have a much bigger impact. Just imagine if people in countries that do not have stable currencies had a choice. People may trust 'FBcoin' more than they ever trusted Bitcoin.
With all of that being said, for a company that doesn't seem to respect anyone's privacy, this could be a real doozy.
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The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. - Albert Einstein
Central Banks are going to LOVE this. (Score:1)
Rothschild said something to the effect "If I have control of a nations money, I don't care who controls its laws."
One of the earliest separation of powers involved making the governors answer to the financiers. I'm not convinced this method was the best use of checks and balances, but it was an early inception of checks and balances against unbridled power.
Powerful corporations issuing their own company store-like script is likely to become fractured and unwieldy, and destabilizing central banks' powerf
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What happens when you cross one of the largest companies on the planet and a new currency?
As much as 'social media' changed the face of democracy in the last few years, this could have a much bigger impact. Just imagine if people in countries that do not have stable currencies had a choice. People may trust 'FBcoin' more than they ever trusted Bitcoin.
With all of that being said, for a company that doesn't seem to respect anyone's privacy, this could be a real doozy.
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The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. - Albert Einstein
a) It's Whatsapp, not Facebook. It's a totally different brand.
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I believe he is referring accurately to the people of Jewish descent who control of the federal reserve. The banks they control in turn control fiat currency. Of course, not everyone in those groups is actually Jewish but it may well be true that they hold a controlling position.
Comment removed (Score:3)
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FaceCoin (Score:2)
This will likely end up being called FaceCoin, because two syllables is easy to say.
There isn't yet a cryptocoin called this, but I expect one will be created in a day. Then Facebook will have to buy them out to get the name. Call it coin-squatting.
Re:FaceCoin (Score:5, Informative)
This will likely end up being called FaceCoin, because two syllables is easy to say.
There isn't yet a cryptocoin called this, but I expect one will be created in a day. Then Facebook will have to buy them out to get the name. Call it coin-squatting.
FaceCoin exists: https://coinmarketcap.com/curr... [coinmarketcap.com]
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Zuck Shekels = Zuckels.
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How about Effsee?
I am pretty sure this will be pretty huge, at least at first, because everyone will want to mine the crap out of these coins just in case it gets big. Also, the fact that they have a huge share of eyeballs already as well as a media cycle hungry for FB news ensures that the message will get out and spread quickly.
As much as I dislike FB, I think this move is kind of brilliant. I could see them using the FB platform as the method by which coins are mined too, so the more you use FB, the more
Oh crap. (Score:1)
Facebook + Cryptocurrency, yes, that is exactly what the world needs!
USD, not cryptocurrency (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:USD, not cryptocurrency (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, of course. Realizing that, PayPal is awfully convenient, and Facebook has a captive audience of lazy people who don't want to use multiple apps. As horrible as it is, this might end up being a big hit. Until they get hacked and lose all the money.
In Soviet Zuckerbergistan... (Score:2)
Where is it coming from?? (Score:2)
Where are the dollars coming from? Who the fuck is giving Facebook.. what did it say? $19 billion? Over 2 years.
WHERE IS IT COMING FROM? Who is stupid enough to be giving Facebook money for anything, ESPECIALLY crypto currency. Someone getting scammed hard.
What's in it for me? (Score:2)
What's in it for me, the consumer? Why should I jump ship to a company I already don't like/trust and which has little or no regulations to protect me when I've got Paypal regulated under banking law (mostly, I don't use it for anything but ebay because of that) and my CC regulated up the wazoo?
Oh yeah (Score:2)
Oh boy- a bitcoin-type currency from Facebook, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG??
Nothing, nothing could possibly go wrong! Invest now why there's still time for it to disappear and take your (real) money with it!
No no no not what we want (Score:1)
Corporatocracy (Score:2)