*By Christian Smith* Facebook announced Tuesday it was creating a blockchain division to be led by a senior executive in what may be an effort by the social media company to develop its own payment system that cuts out credit card companies. "I would definitely imagine payments is going to be a big part of it," said TechCrunch's Editor-at-Large Josh Constine about Facebook's blockchain initiative. "Facebook's opportunity there is to cut out the credit card companies. Facebook wants to be the new layer for commerce." When a user makes a purchase through Facebook using a credit card, the customer pays a small percentage or flat fee. Using blockchain technology, Facebook could create its own payment system that would would eliminate the fee and streamline purchases. The executive who will be in charge of the initiative, David Marcus, previously ran Facebook's Messenger app and was a co-founder of the online payment service PayPal. Facebook also [announced](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebooks-c-suite-shuffle) Tuesday that its longtime chief product officer, Chris Cox, will oversee Facebook's "family of apps," which include Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Chris Daniels, who led Facebook's Internet.org connectivity efforts, will take the helm at WhatsApp after its co-founder, Jan Koum, announced last week he was leaving the company. Adam Masseri, who runs Facebook's NewsFeed, will take over as Instagram's vice president of product. When Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, the social media giant promised the leaders of those companies a degree of autonomy. As Facebook installs its own leaders in executive positions over those companies, that autonomy appears to be shrinking. Constine said the decision could affect the way people view Instagram and WhatsApp compared to Facebook. "WhatsApp and Instagram are kind of the hedges against threats to Facebook's brand. With all the recent Cambridge Analytica scandals, when Facebook was really getting hit with a lot of criticism that didn't necessarily flow over Instagram or WhatsApp," said Constine in an interview Wednesday with Cheddar. "They were sort of the lifeboat for Facebook's brand just in case people started to really hate on the big blue social network." Constine also said that more closely associating Facebook with Instagram and WhatsApp could end up being a boost to the brands. "They're going to run essentially the Facebook playbook, which could actually end up being good because Facebook's been quite successful with that playbook," said Constine. For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-getting-into-blockchain-as-company-reorganizes).

Share:
More In Technology
U.S. Stocks Close at Session Lows
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at their lowest levels of the trading day, as investors continue to eye inflation ahead of the May CPI report out Friday. Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist for National Holdings, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Markets Plunge On Hotter-Than-Expected Inflation Data
U.S. markets opened sharply lower on Friday on hotter-than-expected inflation data. The May CPI showed an 8.6% jump in consumer prices year-over-year, higher the expected 8.3%. Mark Howard, Senior Multi-Asset Specialist at BNP Paribas joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
U.S. Stocks Close at Session Lows Following High May Inflation Data
U.S. stocks closed Friday at session lows after May CPI data showed inflation in the U.S. has not peaked and is still rising rapidly. For the week, the S&P fell 5.06%, the Dow lost 4.58%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.60%, marking the worst week since January for all three major indexes. Mike Zigmont, Head of Trading and Research at Harvest Volatility Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tesla Files Proposal a 3-for-1 Stock Split
The electric vehicle maker filed a proposal for a three-for-one stock split, increasing the accessibility of shares for investors for a stock trading at around $700 a share. The move comes not long after tech giant Amazon announced a 20-for-one split. The number of authorized shares rises from two billion to six billion. It was also revealed that board member Larry Ellison does not intend to stand for reelection as it pertains to Tesla.
Biden Proposes New Rule to Add 500,000 EV Chargers Nationwide
President Biden proposed a new rule that would add 500,000 chargers for electric vehicles nationwide. The proposal comes amid the rapid shift to EVs with dozens of automakers announcing plans for all-electric fleets within the next decade. But with the new surge will the U.S. have the proper infrastructure to keep up? Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy.com joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. "I really think the idea of standardization is a big deal. Standardization certainly makes it much better for everybody to be able to get a charge when they need one," he said.
Load More