Meta is reportedly working on a new digital currency,

While the Diem digital currency project has met with resistance, which led Meta to abandon its launch last year, the company has not given up all forms of prerogatives in this area. There are rumours of a new project called "Zuck Bucks", which would be an internal currency aimed at facilitating purchases and credits within the various platforms of the group. This is another illustration of the interest in digital currencies to underpin transactional exchanges within digital platforms.

FACTS

• The web giant is currently letting the rumour mill run with the rollout of "Zuck Bucks", the internal code name given to Meta's next digital currency by the group's employees.

• It is Meta's financial entity, Meta Financial Technologies, that is currently working on the design of this new "in-house" currency. The programme includes digital tokens and coins, as well as loan services embedded in the group's social applications.

• For its currency, no recourse to the blockchain this time, Meta would bet on the launch of an integrated crypto-currency managed centrally by the group itself. It would allow purchases to be made on the Facebook or Instagram networks but also within the Metaverse.

• Concerning the credit offer, Meta is already working with partners to eventually offer loans at attractive rates to small businesses.

• The launch of a pilot to publish and share NFTs on Facebook is also planned for mid-May.

• Finally, Meta is also said to be working on the creation of "social tokens" or "reputation tokens", which could be issued as a reward for significant contributions in Facebook groups, for example, or given to influencers for their work.

CHALLENGES

• Bypassing the authorities: Novi eventually succumbed to the attacks of institutional actors and was only launched in a reduced format compared to Meta's original ambitions. Nevertheless, the interest of a private currency remains for the social network group. That is why it is not surprising that the group perseveres with this project of an internal digital currency limited to the Meta universe and therefore to integrated purchases.

• The launch of a currency dedicated to integrated purchases represents a difficult step backwards for Meta and Facebook. The group could indeed boast of innovating with its Facebook Credits in 2010, which is no longer the case today.

• Supporting its business model: The undisputed giant of social networks for several years, Facebook has lost its hegemony, particularly as younger people have turned away from its platform. The social media group is now looking for new alternative sources of revenue and is banking heavily on social commerce and the Metaverse.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• The information on the "Zuck Buck" is still unofficial, coming from internal informants.

• Meta saw its stock market valuation cut by more than $220 billion last February. Recently, Facebook has also seen a decline in the number of active users, a first in its history.