Facebook made waves last year when it announced that the company would be changing its name to Meta, a nod to up and coming metaverse that’s positioned to become the so-called future of the internet.
Now, the social media behemoth is reportedly eyeing a new way to tap into the 3D internet world with “Zuck Bucks.”
Named after Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, The Financial Times reported that the company is in the process of creating a new virtual currency that Meta users can use only on the social media platform.
“Meta is leaning towards introducing in-app tokens that would be centrally controlled by the company, similar to those used in gaming apps such as the Robux currency in popular children’s game Roblox,” The Financial Times explained.
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The Zuck Bucks could be used for rewards and purchases on Meta’s platform itself, but is not set to be a a widespread crypto coin that users can spend and trade elsewhere. Zuck Bucks will not exist on the blockchain — the currency would be controlled by Meta itself and Meta only.
Meta, however, did not confirm nor deny the new report.
“We have no updates to share today,” Lauren Dickson, Meta spokesperson, told The Verge in a statement. “We continuously consider new product innovations for people, businesses, and creators. As a company, we are focused on building for the metaverse and that includes what payments and financial services might look like.”
The social media giant has previously taken a stab at its own in-app currency and another attempt at a widespread crypto coin only for both to ultimately fail.
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In 2009, the company rolled out Facebook Credits for use of purchases on various Facebook games and features, but the service was shut down four years into its roll out due to difficulty with foreign currency conversions in countries outside of the U.S.
Then, Facebook tried to roll out Libra in 2019, a crypto coin that was under harsh criticism for its non-regulatory practices. The company then renamed the coin Diem in earlier this year but public and governmental perception of the coin had not changed, ultimately leaving Meta to drop the product all together.
“If last year was about putting a stake in the ground for where we’re heading, this year is going to be about executing,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call earlier this year.
Meta was down around 0.16% in a 24-hour period at close on Thursday.
