Mark Zuckerberg, unimpressed by the wave of criticism of Facebook's attitude towards fake news, continues his march towards a virtual world governed by his (that is, his own) rules. It is these days the news that WhatsApp has taken an important step in the world of cryptocurrencies with the possibility for American users to send and receive money through the Novi digital wallet, developed by Facebook-Meta. Members can make payments, and then receive them, directly from the chats, taking advantage of the service offered by Novi, at no additional cost. At the moment the program affects a limited number of accounts present within the US territory, but one can think that the range of action will be extended at least to India and Brazil, where the test phase has just begun, i.e. two countries extremely sensitive to the development of meta-currencies.
New arises from the digital currency project Pound, is Facebook had announced in 2019 with the aim of revolutionizing the global economy, before a step backwards caused by the general outcry. Now Zuckerberg tries again. All transactions will be made using the cryptocurrency Pax Dollar (USDP), which belongs to the category of stable coin, different from bitcoins, because their value remains anchored to that of the physical currency to which they are associated, in this case the dollar. The conversion is therefore guaranteed 1:1 and immediate. Novi and WhatsApp confirmed that the service does not require any type of commission at any stage of its use.
No, the reference to Brazil and India is certainly casual. Virtual currencies, notes a recent study by the Bayes Business School, are struggling to establish themselves as a payment instrument due to the extreme volatility of prices and the frequency of fraud and criminal activity. The use of Bitcoin and its surroundings remains mainly speculative, with the important exception of the NFT (not fungible tokens) that keep track of who creates them, widely used in the luxury and art world.
The picture changes, however, in the emerging markets where cryptocurrencies have conquered a significant slice of the market, starting with remittances from emigrants, which are safer and cheaper. And so countries such as are making their way into the ranking of Bitcoin customers Nigeria and Kenya. Since the outbreak of the pandemic Bitcoin trades quadrupled thanks to the boom of platforms in Latin America, Africa and the Far East. At the top are Vietnam, Pakistan and India where the attempt to outlaw Bitcoin has failed, even if New Dehli does not despair (like China and Nigeria) of entering the market with a national cryptocurrency.
Zuckerberg is now trying to wedge himself into this trend by circumventing the problems raised by the most important central banks, from the Fed to the ECB, also committed to gaining positions on markets, wild for now, but also excellent hunting grounds for cybersecurity for this reason.
