Yahoo Finance Why Facebook's crypto push won't be a 'major game-changer': Analyst
Don’t expect unbridled enthusiasm over Facebook’s reported cryptocurrency push just yet.
“I don’t believe it’s going to be this kind of major game-changer,” Brent Thill, Jefferies senior technology analyst, tells Yahoo Finance’s “The Ticker.” “We’re still stuck in the way we use the current currencies. And I think anyone that’s shopped on Instagram today realizes using PayPal is pretty easy. You have two clicks of your thumb and you’ve got a product on the way within a day.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the tech giant has support from big names like Visa (V), Mastercard (MA) and Uber Technologies (UBER) for the project. Over a dozen companies will reportedly invest roughly $10 million each in an association that will oversee the digital currency, called Libra.
This comes as RBC analyst Mark Mahaney forecasts in a recent note that Facebook’s (FB) cryptocurrency strategy could be “one of the most important initiatives in the history of the company to unlock new engagement and revenue streams.”
For his part, Thill predicts Facebook backing the digital coin will give it more credibility, but it will take some time for users to adapt. “I think all the internet companies are trying to figure out payments. It’s a huge, huge pain point,” he said.
Facebook is planning to unveil its cryptocurrency on Tuesday, according to TechCrunch.
McKenzie Stratigopoulos is a producer at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @McKenzieBeehler
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