The tech giant Facebook has decided to join the ever growing list of enterprises exploring Blockchain. Everyone in the Internet world is doing it - Amazon, Microsoft, Akamai, to name of few, so it was just a matter of time.

Back in May 2018, the company announced that a Blockchain Research Initiative is to be formed.

Facebook appointed David Marcus, who at the time of the announcement was a Coinbase board member to head the new Blockchain team back in May. He is joined by Kevin Weil, Instagram’s former VP of product, to help grow the division at facebook.

Marcus was previously the head of Facebook’s messaging app Messenger, so it is safe to say that this topic is a priority. Interestingly, later in August 2018 David Marcus announced that he's leaving the Coinbase board after just eight months. As a reason he's leaving the board he mentioned that the goal is to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

At the time of writing this post (31 August 2018), Facebook had 5 open positions for Blockchain specialists, one for a Manager of a Software Engineering Team in Israel, three positions for Marketing and Brand specialists in different seniority (Head of Brand, Global Brand Development Lead and Head of Global Community & Media Director) and last but not least - a Public Policy Manager. This is the precise role that signals that Facebook has recognised the benefits of Blockchain and is researching for the best use of the technology for Facebook’s purposes. Why is exactly this job more important than all previously mentioned? Basically, a lot of Enterprises decide to try out Blockchain, most of them see the technology as a marketing play and the opportunity to present a company as innovative. The few that are serious about it want to make sure that there are no legal obstacles to using this new technology, for which there are no or minimal regulation mechanisms at this stage. Exactly this is the case with Facebook, which is looking to hire a Policy Manager so early in their research.

Going through the job description, we can get a few hints of which direction Facebook is taking for the Blockchain project.

“We're exploring lots of areas of interest across all facets of blockchain technology. Our ultimate goal is to help billions of people with access to things they don't have now - that could be things like equitable financial services, it could be new ways to save, it could be new ways to share information. “

So, a new payment system in Facebook based on a Crypto-token that will fuel the existing Marketplace? This could be a realistic first application. Back in June 2018 Facebook announced that they are going to start monetizing the Ads Marketplace by offering sponsored ads for $5-10. (Source:Techcrunch). A Crypto-token can save a lot of cost for the payment service provider. Another option would be for people around the globe to buy Cryptocurrencies from Facebook? Maybe, who knows. We will all find out soon. Until then, there is no doubt that becoming a part of the Facebook Blockchain team is an amazing opportunity to get your career in Crypto started.

Interested in a Blockchain job in Facebook? Browse the current open positions.

Interested? Read more:

What the hell is Facebook doing on the blockchain? | WIRED UK

Facebook Has a New Director of Engineering for Blockchain - CoinDesk

Blockchain: Facebook's David Marcus leaves Coinbase's board …

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