PayPal, Mastercard, and Stripe investing in Facebook's new cryptocurrency

PayPal, Mastercard, Stripe, and Uber will be among over a dozen companies investing approximately $10 million each to back Facebook's new cryptocurrency.

Facebook Global Holdings registered "Libra Networks" in Switzerland as a financial technology company focusing on blockchain and payments as well as data analytics and investing.

The cryptocurrency will be transferable with zero fees among Facebook products, and the company is working with merchants for acceptance of the token, reported TechCrunch.

The twins' lawsuit with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg over the invention of Facebook is documented in the 2010 movie "The Social Network."

Speculation centers around the idea that Facebook users will be able to exchange the token with friends and use it to make purchases on the network.

For partners, participating in the launch of Facebook's cryptocurrency enables them to keep an eye on what could become a highly influential competitor.

Setting up the Libre Association will allow Facebook to maintain a degree of separation between their social media platform and cryptocurrency.

Facebook's success in building an international audience could translate into greater awareness of cryptocurrency and other applications of distributed ledger technology.

Many onlookers believe that Facebook launching a token will stimulate the cryptocurrency market.

Facebook's pivot to cryptocurrency follows increased scrutiny regarding the misuse of customer data.