Former PayPal president and Facebook blockchain head David Marcus Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

According to a Bloomberg report, Facebook is working on a cryptocurrency that will enable users transfer cash on its WhatsApp messaging app with a first focus on the Indian remittances market. The report says the company is developing a stablecoin – crypto pegged to a currency or exchange traded commodities to minimize volatility – for this.

“Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.”

image : Facebook

Former PayPal president David Marcus currently leads the company’s blockchain initiatives so moves like this to take stand in the payments market are likely. Going by employee titles on LinkedIn, Facebook currently has about 40 people on its blockchain group signaling a hiring spree for the unit.

India has over 200 million users and counts as the world’s largest remittances market with $69 billion sent home to India from foreign countries in 2017 according to World Bank data. Facebook might be the first large tech company to take on a major blockchain project like this and may likely see more success given its very large user base.

image : Facebook

The company may also be getting additional revenue stream following concerns in user and advertiser growth across its services.

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