Amid The cryptocurrency market saga, tech giant, Facebook, has started a hiring spree for blockchain and cryptocurrency developers. The goal is to expand its blockchain development group and explore the technology in every way possible. Keep in mind that there have been speculations that Facebook is planning to launch its cryptocurrency soon. This move by the company is just another reason to believe that the industry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Blockchain For Facebook
In April 2018, Facebook launched a blockchain unit with the PayPal’s former president and the vice president of messenger, David Marcus. Since then, the group has hired 40 employees. This includes six ex-Paypal executives that left the payment giant with Marcus. The unit also includes former Samsung Pay and Google Pay staff. It’s possible that Facebook may be planning to launch a payment platform based on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
The company may also be planning to launch a cryptocurrency that will allow its users to make electronic payments efficiently without relying on conventional channels. They have already started making moves in D.C to ramp the project up. It is because of this cryptocurrency and blockchain-based projects that Facebook has started recruiting engineers, legal experts, product managers, and other professionals in the blockchain space.
Alex Heath from Cheddar, said that the company is recruiting actively from the blockchain space. In his words:
“Facebook is actively recruiting. They are trying to scoop blockchain startups that are still in the infant stages. This may mean that they haven’t developed a working project yet.”
Heath said that the company is aggressive in its pursuit of blockchain experts because there are not many talented job seekers in the industry at this time. Getting the right talent isn’t going to be easy and it may require poaching people from other blockchain-based companies. This will cost the company a lot. Heath continued:
“The industry has limited talent because it is still in its infancy and there are already many big players who want to employ this talent. This is why Facebook is being very aggressive about it and it’s not easy at all.”
Facebook Has Lost The Trust Of Many People
Another reason why Facebook is having trouble recruiting is the numerous data-privacy scandals that have been reported on the platform. This has cost Facebook public trust. Heath continued:
“Many people don’t trust Facebook as much as they used to right now. This especially applies to people in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Many of these cryptocurrency experts decided to enter in blockchain industry because they don’t like the data misuse and centralization of companies like Facebook.”
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.15% |
Not too long ago, it was discovered that Facebook was selling the personal data of users to third parties without their consent. Even if Zuckerberg has made a public apology following the reports, the incident has already damaged the company’s reputation. Heath concluded:
“The idea of building a digital economy and cryptocurrency within the Facebook ecosystem is exciting according to some people but scary according to others. It totally depends on who you ask. The project is polarizing but the company is building it up fast. I believe we should see the company buy more companies within the cryptocurrency space in 2019.”
