Russia's most popular social media platform is considering to develop its own cryptocurrency. VKontakte, best known as VK, hasn't officially revealed any plans yet, but the news comes from an anonymous source at the Russian news outlet RNS. Every users of the platform would automatically get a cryptocurrency wallet.
One of the ways users would earn the VK cryptocurrency, would be by spending time on the platform and being active. Earned coins can be spend for goods or converted to fiat via VK Pay, which is a cashless money transfer service that can be used inside chat applications. Users would also be able to tip others if they like certain content.
VK has tens of millions of registered users, and is currently one of the most popular websites in Russia. VK's founder Pavel Durov is also the man behind the privacy-oriented chat application Telegram. Interestingly enough, Telegram might be launching its own blockchain network as well, after receiving a $1.7 billion investment in a private token sale.
VK would not be the first social media platform to embrace blockchain technology or incorporate cryptocurrencies. Facebook is also considering to launch its own coin, which would also be used inside mobile chat app Whatsapp. While China - already a forerunner in terms of blockchain adoption - has many mobile projects involving crypto and blockchain. Two weeks ago the Korean app Kakao Talk announced to make the jump to the blockchain.
Posted from my blog: https://www.nederob.nl/2019/04/02/russian-social-media-giant-vk-eyeing-cryptocurrency/