One of the most popular privacy-focused messaging apps, Signal, has seen explosive growth over the past two months, due to, for example, the WhatsApp acquisition and recent big tech censorship. According to a number of reports, the company has been experimenting with monetization, and more recently Signal has reportedly been testing the Stellar crypto network.
The mobile communications company App Annie, detailed at the end of 2020, had around 20 million active users per month. After the announcement that Facebook was acquiring Whatsapp and changing its privacy policy, there was a mass exodus to privacy-focused messaging apps like Telegram and Signal.
News.Bitcoin.com reported on Telegram’s colossal growth, which recently exceeded 500 million active users. Data from the sensor tower shows that, in addition to the swelling of the telegram, Signal downloaded the data protection messaging app 7.5 million times in four days between January 6 and 10.
Several reports this week revealed that Signal is experimenting with cryptocurrencies and may even introduce its own coin. The tech newsletter called Platformer said that Signal was playing with a Stellar derivative called Mobilecoin, a token created using the Stellar blockchain.
Moxie Marlinspike, the CEO of Signal, was once a consultant for the Mobilecoin project. However, according to the latest platform report, Signal employees are suspicious of adding a cryptocurrency and have stated that doing so could lead to unwanted regulatory reviews.
For example, Telegram had regulatory issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission after creating its own cryptocurrency, and Facebook’s digital asset was also under scrutiny. Other messaging apps like China’s Wechat are already using crypto asset payments. Still, some employees and former Signal employees are not impressed with the move.
“The world needs products like Signal, but they also need Signal to be thoughtful,” Gregg Bernstein, a former signal researcher, told the platformer.
As of press time, stellar (XLM) is the twelfth largest blockchain by market capitalization and will be traded for $ 0.24 per unit on Wednesday. Data from Coingecko shows the Mobilecoin (MOB) token exchanged hands for $ 3.55 per unit and is up 12% today while most coins have fallen.
Currently, the worldwide trading volume of MOB around the clock is $ 1.3 million, with the MOB / USDT and MOB / USD markets dominating the FTX Exchange.
What do you think of Signal potentially adding a cryptocurrency and experimenting with the Stellar blockchain? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments section below.
Tags in this story
App Annie, Cryptocurrency, Facebook, FTX Exchange, MOB, Mobilecoin, Moxie Marlinspike, Platform, Sensor Tower, Signal, Signal Messenger, Stellar, Stellar Blockchain, Stellar XLM, Telegram, Commerce, WeChat, WhatsApp, XLM
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