Forget Cannabis, the ‘Facebook Coin’ Exposure Will Be the Gateway Drug to Bitcoin: Bogart’s Take

There has been speculation on whether or not Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency will harm Bitcoin’s current market. Blockchain Capital’s executive Spencer Bogart seems to think the media giant entering the crypto space might be the best thing that’s ever happened to bitcoin.

Boggart told Bloomberg that Facebook could end up being a significant catalyst that will boost the adoption of bitcoin worldwide. The platform currently boasts billions of users globally, even the smallest percentage of them becoming cryptocurrency literate or curious could double or triple the market base almost overnight.

“We have seen public reports of what Facebook might be working on – most of that is pretty private. But what we do know is that they have [an extensive] and serious team that is working on some public Blockchain effort – some payment system. At the same time, Bitcoin has gone from zero users ten years ago to somewhere between 30 to 100 million – the estimates are tough. And Facebook has billions of users.” – Bogart

His statement follows an effort by Facebook to raise $1 billion in venture funds for its crypto which, according to New York Times journalist Nathanial Popper, will back Facebook coin with a 1:1 peg.

Despite it being technically a glorified stablecoin, there is a much better probability of mass adoption because of its incredibly large built in user base.

Update on Facebook's cryptocurrency: Sources tell me that Facebook is now looking to get VC firms to invest in the Facebook cryptocurrency project we reported on earlier this year. I hear they are targeting big sums — as much as $1b.

— Nathaniel Popper (@nathanielpopper) April 8, 2019

Ted Livingston, founder of Kik, broke the news that Facebook was coming around to cryptocurrency and looking to adopt it. If anything, the world’s largest social media making a stablecoin could end up being a larger threat than bitcoin to the US dollar.

“Not that long ago the world’s reserve currency was gold, where the value of a dollar was pegged to the value of gold. But then one day the US decided to unpeg the dollar from gold, paving the way for the dollar to replace gold as the world’s reserve currency. So here is my question: what will stop Facebook from doing the same?” – Livinigston

But according to Bogart, you could look at Bitcoin as more of a “gateway drug” for the upcoming Facebook Coin users.

In an interview with Joe Weisenthal, he said future less hard core cryptocurrency users would want to avoid the more burdened regulation checks of Bitcoin, suggesting that general trust of Facebook make encourage more users to enter the crypto market.

“Once they own [Facebook Coin], it will be like being on the internet so people can spin-out And start owning bitcoin, Ethereum […] But the most important thing is that it is going to lit the fire in the pants of every major fintech and financial institution in the US.” – Bogart

Bitcoin is currently trading at $5,843.