Even though Meta Platforms abandoned its efforts to create a global cryptocurrency called Diem, the company is still exploring finance products, media reports suggest.

Facebook’s parent company is exploring the potential of digital money, internally dubbed "Zuck Bucks" -- a spin on Meta founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s name -- the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

However, it is unlikely that Zuck Bucks will be a cryptocurrency. The company is more likely to introduce in-app tokens that would give Meta a new revenue channel and control over transactions in its suite of apps and services. It could be used to pay creators on Instagram or reward influencers for their contributions on Facebook. The tokens could be similar to the Robux currency used in popular gaming app Roblox, the report said.

Robux has been hugely successful with Roblox building a huge business with it. Meta could try to emulate some of that success on its own platforms.

The move to make digital tokens comes amid Meta’s growing focus on services around the Metaverse. Zuckerberg has himself been vocal about the importance of e-commerce and financial tools in Metaverse.

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"As a company, we are focused on building for the Metaverse and that includes what payments and financial services might look like," a Meta spokesperson told AFP. However, the spokesperson did not reveal specific innovations being pursued at the moment.

Meanwhile, Meta has not distanced itself from blockchain products, with Zuckerberg saying last month that Instagram would bring out non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the “near-term”, Reuters reported.

The company is looking at launching a pilot for posting and sharing NFTs on Facebook by mid-May, the Financial Times reported quoting a memo. It will test “membership of Facebook groups based on NFT ownership and another for minting” NFTs.

Earlier this year, Meta became a part of the Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc-led Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which is a group of companies focussing on promoting open access to cryptocurrency technologies.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is a huge fan of Meta’s plans. Reacting to the Financial Times report on Meta’s potential digital token posted by a user on Twitter, Dorsey said: “Insanely great. (Please let this be real).”

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