This time, however, it is very likely it will be a centrally controlled currency, as opposed to a blockchain-based one.
Although the new virtual currency is still in very early development, some employees close to the project have already given it a nickname: “Zuck Bucks”.
A Virtual Currency for the Metaverse
According to a report by the Financial Times, the new virtual currency project is part of the company’s larger effort at developing its metaverse. Although Meta’s last attempt at creating the cryptocurrency Diem was ditched, the new virtual currency would serve as part of its metaverse’s payment and financial services.
After many of the backers of Meta’s crypto effort abandoned the project one by one after years of stagnation and excessive scrutiny by regulatory bodies, as detailed by CNBC, it is very likely that this new virtual currency will come in a centralized format.
The “Zuck Bucks”, candidly nicknamed after Mark Zuckerberg himself, are likely to function much like other centrally controlled virtual currencies present in many MMOs and online games, which means that the currency will be controlled by the company. Meta is also looking into “social” tokens that reward users for their activities inside Facebook groups. Although the company is shifting its focus from a cryptocurrency to a centrally controlled one, Meta is still not giving up on its efforts in the crypto world altogether.
It is still working on allowing posting and sharing NFTs on both Facebook and Instagram, two of the company’s most popular platforms. All of this comes as part of Meta’s strategy to diversify and tackle the fading popularity of its social media platforms.
Meta’s Only Choice
Zuck Bucks are still not a thing, but after Meta failed to launch Diem, a centrally controlled currency seems like the only choice left for the company for creating an electronic currency for its metaverse.
