Facebook is reportedly thinking about launching its own cryptocurrency

It appears that social media giant Facebook might be contemplating rolling out its own cryptocurrency, reports suggest.

The company is purportedly looking into using cryptocurrency to facilitate payments across its various services, according to a report from Cheddar .

The publication further suggests the efforts will be led by David Marcus, who was heading the Facebook Messenger unit until recently.

There are not many details as of yet, but Cheddar indicates that plans could take years to implement. Given that blockchain technologies are still in their infancy, it is unlikely Facebook will be willing to rely on decentralized solutions until they can handle large transaction volumes – an issue the entire blockchain industry is dealing with.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously suggested that the company is open to experimenting with blockchain in a new-years-resolution post in January.

“[M] any people now believe technology only centralizes power rather than decentralizes [sic] it,” Zuckerberg said. “There are important counter-trends to this – like encryption and cryptocurrency – that take power from centralized systems and put it back into people’s hands.”

Indeed, reports from earlier this week suggested that Facebook has established a new research and development branch specifically devoted to exploring implementing blockchain-powered solutions in its products.

A few thoughts on HTC’s blockchain phone and what consumers can expect

HTC has been teasing images of its upcoming blockchain-powered Android smartphone – the Exodus 1 – for months now, but we might have to wait a little longer to see how it actually performs in the real world.

The Taiwanese electronics giant was slated to show off a working demo of its handset at an event in Schenzhen, China, but all of a sudden: the device was a no-show. Still, TechCrunch managed to get its hands on the Exodus 1, and has since shared images of the phone (though only the hardware, not the actual software).

A closer look at the Exodus 1

For starters, there are no surprises here: the device looks pretty much identical to the renders HTC unveiled in October.

The Exodus 1 comes comes with dual-camera setups on both the front and rear side of the phone, and sports a reflective transparent backing.

Here are some images of the device, courtesy of TechCrunch:

And here are the renders HTC showcased earlier this year:

Under the hood, the device will be powered by a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage space. The Exodus 1 will also come with a 6-inch Quad HD+ display and a 3,500mAh battery. This means the phone should offer comparable performance to other Android flagships.

TechCrunch has shared a few more pictures of the device, you can catch a glimpse here .

Stuck between a phone and a wallet

Of course, the whole shtick of the Exodus 1 is not the design – it’s the numerous blockchain capabilities HTC has built into the device.

Among other things, the handset comes with an additional “secure enclave” and a series of blockchain-specific software implementations. HTC has also revealed the phone will run a supplementary, micro OS on top of Android, with which users will be able to securely store private keys to their cryptocurrency wallets – or so the company claims.

Unfortunately, we are yet to see how well any of those features work.

But there is one obvious issue with the Exodus 1 from the looks of it: as a ‘blockchain phone,’ it might be stuck in a still non-existent category between a “smartphone” and a “cryptocurrency wallet solution.” It’s worth noting HTC is not alone in this category; in fact, Israel-based Sirin Labs is gunning to launch its own blockchain-powered phone at the end of November.

At around $800 (the device was available to pre-order for 0.15 Bitcoin and 4.78, but its price varies due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies), the Exodus 1 is a bit too expensive to justify buying simply as a smartphone, and it’s yet to prove whether the phone can also serve as a truly secure wallet.

While Samsung insists smartphones are great cryptocurrency wallets, researchers still advise using an actual hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger. “ As the old security adage goes,” Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp told Hard Fork, “complexity is the enemy of security.”

Blockchain phones

Although HTC Decentralized Chief Officer Phil Chen told TechCrunch the company takes blockchain seriously, the Exodus 1 is not a number one priority. “ I don’t think it’s number one of the priority list, but I would say it’s number three or four,” Chen said.

HTC reportedly has between 20 and 30 engineers working on its blockchain-powered efforts, but the undertaking is still very much a learning process.

Delayed launches and cancelled plans are not uncommon in the blockchain space, but it is somewhat concerning HTC had to quietly abort the global debut of the Exodus 1 – especially when the device is expected to start shipping next month.

Why you should stop worrying and start loving Bitcoin’s price changes

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Two words, often seen as synonymous by a segment of the population, which are currently seeping into the vocabulary of the average Internet user.

Recently, one of the reasons why Bitcoin was discussed even amongst those who would not usually be concerned with the cryptocurrency was the fact that it broke the $10,000 barrier for the first time in its history .

Bitcoin, once the face of a somewhat rebellious and most certainly revolutionary idea of anonymous digital currencies, has now entered into mainstream consciousness and is taken a lot more seriously by the likes of Wall Street and all of the major tech companies worldwide.

Even with all its popularity, concerns about Bitcoin remain

One of the main reasons why many people have traditionally been unwilling to invest into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is their unstable nature. First and foremost, their value fluctuates so much that it’s virtually impossible to predict where Bitcoin might head next, something that obviously doesn’t sit well with people who may like to trade in it.

It doesn’t help that experts in the financial industry simply cannot agree at all when it comes to Bitcoin. Some, like Warren Buffet and his trusted manager, Charlie Munger, believe that “ cryptocurrencies will come to a bad end ”.

Plenty of others lean towards this side of the discussion, arguing that Bitcoin is a bubble that’s waiting to burst and that those who invest their money into such cryptocurrencies will one day lose it all without much warning.

Others yet are far more positive. Some don’t even care about Bitcoin’s fluctuations, instead arguing that there are some aspects, like the anonymity it provides, which make it such an attractive option for them.

Individuals are not the only ones who are keen on Bitcoin. Recently, we saw Kodak launching its very own cryptocurrency (KodakCoin) and doubling its share price overnight. Such a bold move was sure to be controversial, but it does go to show that cryptocurrencies are here to stay.

Bitcoin price will continue to go up and down so you better embrace it

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin included, were never meant to be stable. They were never meant to replace traditional currencies entirely and they are certainly not moving towards any such goal, now or in the future.

There are those who would like to use Bitcoin for measures that its founders probably never dreamed of, and perhaps never even wanted. The Goldman Sachs Group, for instance, recently held a discussion about the use of Bitcoin in countries with questionable stability like the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Such a thing would only be possible in the future if Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency was actually stable, a future where cryptocurrencies would indeed be an alternative form of payment as widely accepted as something like PayPal.

That day, however, many never come. Even those who have embraced Bitcoin as a form of payment are not happy about its instability. Valve famously removed it as a payment option in Steam , for instance, while Microsoft only recently brought it back after removing it due to “instability”.

These cases show that the world is not really ready for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. Go to any website that will allow you to check Bitcoin’s price and you will quickly understand why Bitcoin is such a divisive issue.

The future is unpredictable but infinitely exciting

The biggest critics of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies often speak about their unpredictable nature as something that should turn most people away from them. Of course, no one in the industry and no one involved in Bitcoin would tell anyone who doesn’t have money to spare to invest in such cryptocurrencies.

One of the issues that Bitcoin faces is misrepresentation. It’s not meant to be a money-making scheme; it’s about introducing a different type of currency, it’s about showcasing the power of the blockchain , it’s about everything else except securing a financial future.

There are certainly volatile moments that completely change the face of Bitcoin. For example, South Korean’s recent discussions about banning cryptocurrency trading made Bitcoin plummet a couple of thousands of dollars in value.

Such moves should have been expected a long time ago. Governments around the world would never have been happy with an anonymous, unregulated currency that can be used for just about anything with little to no repercussions, after all.

Even so, the future of Bitcoin is still very much exciting. While it may not always soar this high, and its value may plummet to bitter depths, Bitcoin still represents everything that cryptocurrencies stand for and the innovation that comes with them.

Bitcoin is here to stay, in one way or another

In the digital age, doomsday predictions are a dime a dozen. People herald the death of pretty much everything. Even giants like YouTube and Facebook have long-since been doomed to death by experts of one form or the other and yet they are stronger than ever.

Whether you like it or not, Bitcoin is here to stay. It may not stay in this form forever, but it will continue to drive innovation and be a valuable, viable commodity for years to come.