WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) testifies before the ... [+]
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It must be frustrating for Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. From college, until recently, he had nothing but good luck, incredible wealth and power. Now, new privacy policies, the rise of TikTok stealing market share from social media platforms controlled by it, and a billionaire pivot in the metaverse are damaging both Zuckerberg's reputation and net worth.
Meta, according to the Financial Times, is exploring creating digital asset tokens for people to use in their metaverse project. The crypto of him is derisively known as 'Zuck Bucks'. This could be another pivot as the metaverse finds additional income streams to offset its recent financial challenges. Meta lost more than $220 billion in stock market valuation in February due to the various attacks on its core business model.
Developed by Meta Financial Technologies, the Zuck Buck would serve as an in-app token, controlled by Meta. This is similar to other tokens that players have been using for a long time. The Zuck token can be a tradable asset or used to buy things on its various social media platforms.
It has been reported that Meta can create "social tokens" that can be given to people for their contribution on Facebook. "Creator Coins" could be provided to influencers on Instagram to incentivize them to up their game and win back the audience that TikTok is drifting away from. There may also be various other financial services products launched. This can include small business loans and NFTs that could be minted, bought, sold, and traded.
This is not the first foray into digital assets. In 2009, Facebook, as it was known at the time, was ahead of its time by starting Facebook Credits to aid purchases in online games like Farmville.
Recently, the social media giant launched Libra, a proposed virtual cryptocurrency. It was immediately met with public skepticism, distrust, and regulatory scrutiny. This eventually led to many of the executives and workers involved in the project leaving the organization. Libra was renamed as diem in late 2020, but failed to gain momentum and was closed at the beginning of the year.
It's easy and fashionable to make fun of Zuckerberg. But we shouldn't rule it out. Whether we like it or not, he has proven to be a shrewd businessman. Brazenly, he freely clones competing companies or buys them outright.
You still have a massive war chest at your disposal and several successful social media platforms that generate generous income. It will be interesting to watch and see if this new crypto-type asset will take off or become another recent bust.
