“Company scrip is a substitute for government-issued legal tender or currency issued by a company to pay its employees. It can only be exchanged in company stores owned by the employers. It was largely made illegal around 1950 in the U.S. .
Mining and logging camps were typically created, owned and operated by a single company. Camp locations, some quite remote, were often cash poor. Even in ones that were not, the workers were paid in scrip and had little choice but to purchase goods at the company store using scrip. The exchange into currency, if available, was usually done at an exorbitant exchange fee. With this economic monopoly, the employer could place large markups on goods, making workers dependent on the company, thus enforcing employee “loyalty”.” — paraphrased from Wikipedia.
It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Facebook decides to issue Facebook branded cryptocurrency. It would probably be called Facebook Coin, FBC for short. Imagine at the outset, FBC is issued at a 1:1 equivalency with US dollars with the promise that a maximum of 1,000,000,000 (one billion) coins would be issued. The coins would be used to purchase all things Facebook.
Everything you purchase from Facebook, and everything you purchase through Facebook would be paid for in FBC currency. Since Facebook sells several billions in advertising quarterly, there would be an immediate crush on FBC as advertisers purchase enough to have on hand for the coming months. When FBC goes to $2 per coin it would be seen as a good investment as well as a useful currency. Facebook services, such as their newly announced exploration into dating, would be purchased with FBC. Retailers who open Facebook page-based stores could use FBC, as well; another way for customers to differentiate and be differentiated in the marketplace.
Why would Facebook do this? There are many advantages to using a cryptocurrency. First, since advertisers would use FBC to pay for their ads, the demand on FBC would be a good leading indicator for Facebook’s marketing department. Facebook could know months in advance their advertiser’s coming marketing intentions. Second, Facebook gets the revenue long before the money is actually used. In a sense, FBC would be like company stock expect that it would not be tied to any specific underlying commodity or service. Third, FBC would be similar in use to gift cards in that they would be bought and set aside for the specific use of purchasing all things Facebook. They might be used as gifts from one person to another, they might be a kind of savings account like a Christmas club account folks used to open at banks, or just strategic long-range planning. IF Facebook Coins are anywhere near as popular as gift cards, we should soon see them appear on a Facebook page near you.
