The Facebook blockchain development team is still on track and has added new blood from a blockchain startup specializing in smart contracts.

According to Cheddar, Facebook has acquired Chainspace, a blockchain startup. However, instead of a normal acquisition where the acquiring entity takes everything, Facebook has taken a different approach called acquihire.

In this approach, instead of the Facebook blockchain development team taking over Chainspace’s products, Facebook is majorly interested in the skills of the team.

Speaking to Cheddar, a Facebook spokesperson acknowledged the acquisition and also indicated that the Facebook blockchain development team won’t be using Chainspace’s technology. The spokesperson continued to note that:

Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team is exploring many different applications.

Notably, Chainspace was in the process of leveraging smart contracts to increase the speed of blockchain platforms so that they can handle everyday transactions. By increasing its speed, the blockchain technology will be in a better position to be applied in payment systems.

According to Chainspace’s whitepaper, the scaling solution is centered around making nodes on the blockchain to share the transaction verification workload in a process called sharding.

Currently, the Facebook blockchain development team has approximately 40 individuals and the team is expected to keep growing given Facebook’s growing interest in using the blockchain technology in streamlining activities.

The Facebook blockchain development team comprises of product managers, academics, legal experts, and engineers who have a deeper understanding of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Before the acquisition, Chainspace had indicated that it was shifting to “something new.” With 4 out of 5 researchers now on Facebook’s payroll, people familiar with the development told Cheddar that Chainspace will shut down.

Do you think the Facebook blockchain development team is capable of developing a revolutionary product that will solve the privacy issues that have plagued the social media platform?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.