【Inexperienced Experience Of The Summer (2015)】

Facebook is Inexperienced Experience Of The Summer (2015)investing big in blockchain technology.

The social media giant has acquired four key people behind blockchain startup Chainspace and is investing considerable efforts and resources into blockchain tech, a source familiar with the company's plans told Mashable (Cheddar first broke the story late Monday).

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's 15th anniversary: critics are too 'negative'

Chainspace, self-described as a "planetary scale smart contracts platform," recently posted a note on its website, announcing that the team is "moving on to something new."

"Chainspace code and documentation will still be open source, and all previously published academic work remains available," the note says.

Meanwhile, some of the key people behind Chainspace have already changed their LinkedIn profiles, indicating they work for Facebook now. George Danezis, Chainspace co-founder, is now listed on LinkedIn as "Blockchain researcher" at Facebook, as of February 2019. Co-founders Shehar Bano and Alberto Sonnino have done the same.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Chainspace is a decentralized application platform, somewhat similar to Ethereum, but still in early stages of development (read the project's whitepaper here). The startup was in the process of raising a seed funding round to the tune of $2.5 to $3 million and was near that goal when key members of the team got hired by Facebook. The company was previously backed by Lemniscap, MW Partners and KR1, among others.

As for Facebook, the company has publicly stated its interest in blockchain on several occasions, most notably in May 2018, when former Messenger lead David Marcus announced he's leaving that group to lead a new group "to explore how to best leverage Blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch." My source tells me the former Chainspace employees are joining this team. In December 2018, Bloomberg reported that Facebook is working on a cryptocurrency that will let users of its messaging service WhatsApp send and receive money.

A Facebook spokesperson told Cheddar that the company hasn't acquired Chainspace's tech, only the talent.

I've asked Facebook about the acqui-hire and its blockchain-related efforts and will update this article when I hear from them.

UPDATE: Feb. 5, 2019, 7:40 p.m. CET “Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share," a Facebook spokesperson said via e-mail.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Facebook cracks down on Russian-based "fake news"

---

Topics Facebook Social Media Cryptocurrency

• Social Good
• Shopping
• Life
• Entertainment
• Games
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Tech

• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for February 15: Tips to solve Connections #145
• This Starbucks barista will draw an awesome caricature of you on your cup
• The best TV and film Easter eggs of the year
• It looks like 'Star Wars: Battlefront II' will ditch the Season Pass
• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids: $139.99 at Amazon
• These 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' poster spoofs are hilarious
• Politician wears baseball cap to inspect a train toilet, instantly becomes meme
• Google tests Google Hire, its own jobs tool
• The Best CPU & GPU Purchases of 2017
• Chance The Rapper is having a very Stevie Wonder birthday

• You don't need to be a Trekkie to enjoy 'Star Trek Discovery'
• Donald Trump begins feud with Steph Curry, reaches new level of petty
• An Xbox creator explained why the horrid 'Duke' controller is coming back
• Joe Biden's podcast Biden's Briefing available via Google and Amazon
• Pete Souza reminds us of when our president wasn't feuding with every pro sports league
• 'Outlander' episode 3 makes one huge change from the books
• Oh noo: FEMA accidentally tweeted the number of a sex hotline
• Nintendo's philosophy on disruption and innovation sound positively punk
• Klingons on 'Star Trek: Discovery' feel a little too real in the age of Trump
• Women say they fear for their safety after Uber loses its license in London

• Brest vs. PSG 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• Here's yet another way Google Photos is better than Apple Photos
• We need to talk about Luke's last words in the 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' trailer
• Director F. Gary Gray explains why 'The Fate of the Furious' had to go to New York
• Celtic vs. Bayern Munich 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• For Doctor Who season 10, enjoy this light
• Meet the DIY spacesuit designer who wants to bring exploration to the masses
• Bill Nye shuts down flat Earth theories
• Trump who? Tech giants join massive effort to uphold Paris Agreement
• Here's what a high

• Best iPad deal: Save $70 on 10th Gen Apple iPad
• United kicked off a bride and groom headed to their wedding, obviously
• 'Fate of the Furious' just toppled a major 'Star Wars' box office record
• How Twitter king and Congressman Ted Lieu is beating Trump at his own dumb game
• We'll always, er, sorta, have the Paris Climate Agreement
• Bill Nye and Tyler, The Creator just dropped the hottest theme song ever
• The Rock transforms into Pikachu for Easter, and it's a lot harder than it looks
• NASA photos capture a strange new crack in a massive Greenland glacier and we might be doomed
• How to Get Your Significant Other Into Gaming
• Facebook cracks down on bogus 'likes' and zombie accounts in battle against fake news