One Wall Street firm sees major upside for Facebook if its secretive cryptocurrency plan works out.

The social network is reportedly developing a cryptocurrency that could be part of a multibillion-dollar revenue opportunity, Barclays internet analyst Ross Sandler said in a note to clients Monday.

Sandler forecasted as much as $19 billion in additional revenue by 2021 from "Facebook Coin." Conservatively, the firm sees a base-case of an incremental $3 billion in revenue from a successful cryptocurrency implementation.

"Merely establishing this revenue stream starts to change the story for Facebook shares in our view," Sandler said.

Facebook is reportedly developing a cryptocurrency for global payments that will be tied to the value of traditional currencies and available to use through its messenger "WhatsApp," according to Bloomberg and The New York Times. Facebook has not publicly commented on the reports.

Price volatility has been one major roadblock to bitcoin’s widespread adoption as an everyday payment option. But Facebook’s digital currency, a "stable coin," would likely be less attractive to speculators because of its fixed price tied to a currency like the U.S. dollar.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.cnbc.com