Sure, Bitcoin may be down approximately 80% from the $20,000 high it established in late-2018, but development in this space seems to only be ramping up. Case in point, Visa, Citigroup, the New York Times, Facebook, among an array of other legacy firms have (quietly) announced forays into the crypto asset and blockchain space.
This has led some to claim that somehow, some way, the crypto ecosystem is stronger than ever. This may be hard to believe, but the facts (and countless job listings in this case) don’t really lie.
Meet Visa Crypto?
In a job posting recently pinned to SmartRecruiters, it was revealed that Visa is looking for a “technical product manager.” This, of course, doesn’t scream “crypto” or “blockchain,” but the job description sure does. For this position, the multinational payment processing giant is looking for a product manager for its Visa Crypto team, based in Palo Alto. Said individual will need to “possess significant functional knowledge of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” with a preferred familiarity of cryptography.
It was also explained that the company is looking for someone that has a “deep understanding of existing retail payment solutions,” hinting that Visa could be looking into integration blockchain technologies into its payment rails.
Some of the responsibilities are as follows:
- Manage the product strategy and roadmap for cryptocurrency related opportunities
- Ideate and execute opportunities to build products that leverage Visa’s core competencies
- Keep up with cutting edge technology especially open source projects (this, here, is really interesting as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like are open-source), and strive to contribute to Visa’s IP portfolio
Wall Street Giant Looks Into Blockchain
The Block reports that CitiGroup, a New York-based financial services organization, is looking into hiring a blockchain talent. A LinkedIn job listing recent explained that the Citi Markets and Securities Services division of the institution is looking into “Blockchain/ Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Digital Asset initiatives.” It was added that such initiatives span asset classes, businesses, and regions, hinting that Citi’s efforts are (or will be) multi-faceted and extensive.
Interestingly, this comes after reports that Citi tried its hand at a digital asset offering in 2015, before dropping the idea for bolstering its rails with “existing technologies.”
New York Times Looks For “Blockchain Exploration Lead”
The New York Times, one of the largest publications on planet Earth, is purportedly looking into blockchain. According to CoinDesk, the organization is looking for someone to help its efforts in establishing a “blockchain-based proof of concept for news publishers,” which could theoretically allow for better monetization, lower levels of plagiarism, and a more friendly environment for content sharing.
It is important to note that for a number of years, the renowned outlet has published crypto- and blockchain-related pieces through its authors, Nathaniel Popper and Paul Vigna.
Facebook Doubles Down On Crypto
All this comes as the biggest name in the tech world — Facebook — has doubled down on its involvement in the crypto ecosystem. The division has yet to make any recent public hires, but reports indicate that there are at least 50 staffers at Facebook’s blockchain house, which is headed by PayPal’s David Marcus, former Instagram executives, and others with a propensity to push the needle.
And with this group, lead Marcus has purportedly gone ahead with plans to launch a digital asset. As BlockGeeks has hinted at in previous reports, the Bay Area-based social media giant is looking to release its own cryptocurrency, which the public has gracefully dubbed “FBCoin.”
Per sources, FBCoin will be integrated into WhatsApp, specifically for India’s ~200 million users, as there is a growing need for low-cost, rapid, and easy-to-use remittance transactions. Bloomberg once explained that Facebook has been hesitant to divulge the venture, due to purported struggles regarding how to formally custody the underlying USD.
Photo by Jan Senderek on Unsplash
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