Source: iStock/JaysonPhotography

When a promising new technology surfaces, most big name companies will appoint a few people to look into it and see if it can drive their business forward. Tech giants such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and the like are no exception, but Facebook just took a step further: a director of engineering has just been appointed Director of Engineering, Blockchain.

Source: Linkedin

Evan Cheng is considered a well-respected “low level” computer engineer who was previously responsible for heading up Programming Languages & Runtimes at the company, a position he held for nearly three years, according to Techcrunch. His new position was first noticed on his LinkedIn profile and subsequently confirmed by Facebook.

He has also worked for almost ten years at Apple, with his last position there being Senior Manager, Low Level Tools. He also worked on compilation technology and other backend engineering, he tweets about blockchain and is reportedly an advisor to a number of blockchain startups/projects.

He’s not the only known Facebook employee working on blockchain solutions. Long-time Messenger chief David Marcus heads the group, while Instagram’s, which is owned by Facebook, former Vice President of Product Kevin Weil has taken up the position of Vice President of Product, Blockchain at Facebook.

Facebook has also readjusted its stance on banning all crypto-related ads late last month, saying that they will now allow crypto related ads (that are not initial coin offerings or binary options) from pre-approved advertisers, as part of an effort to “refine” its blanket ban policy with regards to crypto.

Also, Facebook is reportedly exploring the creation of its own cryptocurrency.