Facebook and Bitcoin
Facebook & Bitcoin

Facebook guru’s Budapest visit gives rise to heated rumors.

When the world witnessed the Cyprus situation hit the proverbial fan about 2 months ago, the virtual currency known as Bitcoin also became the subject of some heavy media coverage.

The attention paid to Bitcoin has not abated much since then, and the currency has also found itself in the crosshairs of investors plotting smart strategies to ride the next market trend.

Although hopes of an uninterrupted march to glory may have been dampened by the recent exchange rate volatility, some big names have definitely taken notice.

It is well known, that Facebook-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s “nemeses”, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss had invested heavily (at least on the Bitcoin scale) into the virtual currency even before the big hype, and now own around 1% of the total supply.

As far as Zuckerberg himself is concerned, it appeared until recently that the whole phenomenon was of no interest to the young mogul, whose net worth is several times greater than all of the Bitcoins out there.

This may be changing, judging from the fact that his appearance in Budapest this week coincides with the First Bitcoin Meetup, to be held in the Hungarian capital tonight. Though his exact role at the event – or even his participation – has not been confirmed, it does seem to be more than just another unfounded rumor.

Having been sighted in the company of his wife in various popular dining and wining spots across town, Zuckerberg may have arrived in town to put his finger on the Bitcoin pulse – or at least as close to it as possible.

Speaking of a pulse, the news certainly livened up the various Bitcoin forums on the internet, with the virtual currency’s devotees attempting to guess the billionaire’s intent. Whether the visit is a sign of some personal investment plans, a devious scheme to take on the Winklevoss twins, the beginning of the path leading to the virtual currency being somehow used on Facebook, or simply a coincidence – it is anybody’s guess for now.

Still, in light of social gaming companies moving into gambling, and numerous US states moving towards online gambling liberalization, it is interesting to contemplate the myriad of options that the addition of a Bitcoin option to Facebook could bring for both of them, as well as the users (an online blackjack tournament on FB with Bitcoin buy-in, anyone?).

At the same time, it is not entirely clear why he would travel to Budapest for such a meeting, when a big conference on the currency was held in California just two weeks ago. Nevertheless, as large investors have started hopping on the Bitcoin bandwagon behind the early adopters, it is not entirely illogical to assume that the Facebook guru would explore the matter in person.

Or, maybe he’s just on a good ol’ European vacation. We will have to wait until all the cards are on the table before we can tell.