Facebook is creating version of BITCOIN that can send via WhatsApp

FACEBOOK is diving into the murky world of cryptocurrencies by developing its own version of Bitcoin.

The digital cash system, which does not yet have have a name, will allow you to swap currency with your pals through WhatsApp.

It would be a stablecoin a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar to protect it from the disastrous crashes of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

As well as electronic payments and money transfers via WhatsApp, the digital cash could one day come in handy on Facebook's Gumtree-style Marketplace.

Inside sources told Bloomberg that Facebook will first focus the tool on markets in India before spreading it further afield.

A spokesperson said the company “is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology,” and that its new crypto outfit is “exploring many different applications.”

The team is headed by former PayPal president David Marcus.

Investors will have to wait a while to get their hands on the currency – Facebook is a way off of releasing it, and is still in the early development stages.

Experts warned Facebook's move into cryptocurrencies could come with risks for users.

Steve Giguere, global solution architect at software and microchip firm Synopsys, told The Sun Online: “There is no doubt that Facebook is treading into new and risky territory with this move.

“The risks associated with this concept will be surrounding the identity of the user's ‘wallet', which associates a certain value of crypto to a person.

“Some of the major breaches around crypto have been hacks into wallet applications or even into mobile devices which can gain access and trigger unwanted transactions to anonymous wallets which can be immediately cashed out or laundered through other crypto exchanges.