Facebook has registered a new financial technology company in Switzerland which will be focussing on blockchain and payments, Reuters reported citing Geneva’s commercial register. The formation of the new company comes amid the speculation that the social media giant is preparing to announce its own cryptocurrency.
As per the report, Libra Networks was registered in Geneva on May 2, with Facebook Global Holdings as its stockholder.
The plans submitted on the Swiss register indicates that Libra will provide financial and technology services and develop related hardware and software. The new company will also focus on investing, financing, identity management, analytics, big data, and other technologies.
Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, has been getting in the cryptocurrency space slowly. In early May, Facebook announced its decision to limit certain restrictions on its prevailing ban on ads related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
Further, the company hired two of Coinbase’s former compliance managers recently to help in its cryptocurrency efforts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is recruiting many financial firms and online merchants to help launch a crypto-based payments system using its social network.
Following the WSJ report, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee sent an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeking clarification on the purpose and implications of its cryptocurrency and blockchain project.
