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Facebook's Cryptocurrency Could Be a $19 Billion Revenue Opportunity, Barclays Says (gizmodo.com)
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.
No way Google Play is making $6 net revenue per user.
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
Hey how about you turn your abstract voucher in for this abstract voucher written for slightly less? God people are stupid cuz it's probably going to work. In the end that 19 billion in revenue represents a 19 billion dollar in mislabeled charity to Facebook. We already have ways to exchange money. I already have ways to do it instantly. This is a stupid redundant project that unfortunately will probably not be nipped in the bud.
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.
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.
A stable coin fixed to USD is simply fiat credits held by a custodial account which is a very old business practice. The additional revenue will come from fees and services people pay to facebook when they buy these credits or "gift cards". Many services like youtube already have tipping with fiat doing this so there is nothing unique except them using the term "crytocurrency" as a marketing gimmick.
...cryptocurrency mines YOU!
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
1-The main benefit of Bitcoin is the decentralized and not controlled by 1 company thing. This proposal just makes them a bank. 2-If your currency is issued by a corporation then they know everything you do so they can sell your privacy even better. 3-Switching Americans over to a private currency would make tax evasion so much harder for the IRS to track. I don't see why the American Government would allow this.
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.
This is Facebook making a Payment Network. I use Paypal because it works seamlessly with ebay. I use credit cards for cashback rewards and protection from unauthorized charges.
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?
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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!
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
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 valuation to be directly dependant on output as opppsed to demand for a given product in their stores. A loaf of bread could be 1 company dollar one week and 50 the next and not because the bread had become scarcer.
They realized something uinquely evil about that fluctuation in value. It was an easy way to put stress on workers and thin out the weaker ones, older and sicker, from the stronger more productive ones.
It seems the world is in need of learning just how bad things can get with regards to that, yet again.
I think it was one government. We're all OK with one company doing it because yay for free markets111oneeleven1!!!!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
One of the major points in Cryptocurrency is that NO single entity owns or controls it. We are tired of banks controlling what we spend, how we spend, an knowing everything about us. Facebook making a Cryptocurrency is NOT what we want. It is just giving them control like a bank the very thing we are getting away from.
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.
No sig today...
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.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Facebook is literally going to be printing its own money, virtual money at least. Sure, we're all familiar with similar schemes like arcade tokens. Corporations create walled gardens where only their currency is accepted. We can even look back in the not-too-distant past before it was commonplace for The Federal Reserve Bank or the Federal Government to be the de facto legitimate currency of the nation. The Federal Government backed the value of its money by gold - the Federal Reserve bank is a fiat currency but its inflation rates are heavily regulated.
How will Facebook regulate the value of their currency? Does it fluctuate with the value of the company? What value does Facebook have beyond stock speculation at this point? Does all that Big Data really sell for that much? Does Facebook really sell that much advertising? What prevents Facebook from building its own walled garden?
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.
I'd rather taxes get the extra, we need to fix our crumbling infrastructure. Private interest in the US are far too short sighted to sacrifice profits for solutions.
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 of 'fuck the man, burn dollars and use crypto'.
The difficulty in a fragmented system is being able to use the currency. Amazon gift cards, greendot gift cards, amazon GC etc. actually are a viable currency - just ask every scammer out there and 'the IRS who is going to suspend your SSN'. They just aren't easy to use outside of their intended website ... but most people will value an amazon GC at 95% of it's face value vs. ~80% for most other places...and even less for some.
The potential is there. It's the adoption and, primarily, regulation that's stopping it. If the literal poor in Asia have adopted crypto, the barrier isn't too high for the US...we just have too many laws restricting it. Try to buy bitcoin and you'll see how difficult it is
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
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.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
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'?
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.