Meta Targeting 'Deep Compatibility' With Blockchain, Web 3: Incoming CTO

By Scott Chipolina

Meta, formerly Facebook, is aiming for “deep compatibility” with blockchain technology, according to an internal post seen by The New York Times. 

“My overall guidance is to target a deep compatibility with the blockchain. There aren’t many places where I expect us to depend on it exclusively yet, but if we see an opportunity to work jointly with entrepreneurs in the Web3 space I expect it to be worth the effort,” said Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s soon-to-be CTO in the internal note. 

While he urged caution, Bosworth said blockchain technology could have “profound impacts on our industry over the next decade.” 

Bosworth also acknowledged users who are choosing decentralized equivalents over traditional social media and tech platforms. He said these people remained in the minority, however. 

“While most people are happy to use Facebook and Google, some are not. And those that opt out are disproportionately involved in creating a genuinely impressive wave of technology,” he added. 

This is not the first time Meta has sailed close to crypto territory, either. 

Meta’s crypto project, Novi, announced earlier this month that a “limited number” of people in the United States would be able to send Paxos’ stablecoin through Whatsapp. Facebook’s rebrand was coupled with new intentions to dive deeper into the emerging metaverse, of which there is much overlap with crypto. 

Of course, this pivot to the crypto industry precedes its corporate rebrand. In 2019, Facebook launched Libra—a stablecoin designed to be backed by several of the world’s currencies. 

Eventually, Libra became Diem—a stablecoin to be backed by the U.S. dollar. Diem never got off the ground, however, with many big-name brand partners pulling out of the venture.

Cryptocurrencies aside, Meta’s rebrand, and Bosworth’s apparent interest in blockchain technology, are part and parcel of the social media giant’s vision for a world governed by the metaverse. 

“I think we’re basically moving from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first,” Mark Zuckerberg said at the time of the company’s announcement.

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