We’re all still thinking like regular crypto heads when it comes to what Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has up his sleeve with his stablecoin.

The Zuck’s not thinking about just creating his own crypto. He wants to replace the U.S. dollar according to Ted Livingston, who’s developed the reputation of being ahead of the industry in making predictions. Livingston is the founder and CEO of messaging platform Kik.

Facebook’s moves aren’t steeped in anything nefarious. Instead, they are in line with Facebook’s usual claims – helping the world. This time, the vision is to help people who are working in foreign regions send their earnings to people in their native countries.

In the works is a multi-step plan which could come as soon as this week. Livingston laid out a compelling argument in a Medium post about Facebook’s crypto plans.

Everyone should read this. @ted_livingston has been ahead of many trends in social media and messaging over the last decade. Bold thoughts here.https://t.co/RCji3mHaOF — Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) March 20, 2019

Replacing The U.S. Dollar?

The prediction is gutsy, to say the least. It’s also frightening given the loose relationship Facebook has with being forthcoming about what it’s doing behind the scenes. However, Livingston studied Facebook’s stablecoin efforts and started connecting the dots.

It starts with WeChat. This is a Chinese messaging social media and mobile payment app. Livingston says Facebook’s upcoming stablecoin project is a “WeChat aspirant.”

Like this app, Facebook was attempting to move the U.S. Dollar into a private online payment system. A WeChat-based system would serve two main purposes for Facebook. It would allegedly make it easier for people to transfer money cheaply, and it would give them reasons to keep their money inside the messenger system.

Livingston states:

WeChat allowed people to take their money out at any time, but they also added more and more reasons for people to keep their money inside: paying hydro bills, buying food, booking vacations and more. Soon, no one was taking their money out.

Getting Money Home to Family

People who work outside their home countries often find it difficult, expensive or both to get their earnings back home. The first step in helping them is remittance.

Livingston explains:

Every year, people working in foreign countries send hundreds of billions of dollars home to family and friends. Today, this process is slow, expensive, and complicated, with an average fee of $14 to send just $200. If Facebook could offer people a way to send money home for free, it would be a game changer for tens of millions of people.

Keeping track of the money will be done through the blockchain, allowing Facebook to permit payments in their apps without needing to become a bank. Livingston claims:

Instead of working with regulators like WeChat did in China, Facebook can roll out a global financial system without needing to go through the time-intensive process of working with banking regulators country by country.

Facebook’s Monetization Strategy Still in Play

The last step in the plan relates to “keeping money inside the system.” The system will be built so Facebook makes money off of its efforts to help people.

Livingston thinks Facebook could add ways for users to spend money directly inside their apps. This includes paying bills: