Meta Plans Crypto Comeback Via Stablecoins
The tech giant is eyeing strategies to cut costs and expand its payments footprint.
Facebook’s parent company is planning a comeback to crypto through stablecoin integration across its platforms, according to a Fortune report citing sources familiar with the matter.
The tech company has reportedly held talks with several crypto infrastructure firms as it explores ways to reduce payment costs compared to traditional fiat currency, particularly for payouts to creators on platforms like Instagram.
Meta appears to be considering a multi-token approach that could potentially integrate support for popular options like Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, rather than favouring a specific stablecoin.
The company has brought in Ginger Baker, a former Ripple executive, as vice president of product, to help spearhead its stablecoin efforts. Her expertise could prove crucial as Meta tackles the challenge of reducing fees associated with cross-regional payments.
This recruitment signals serious intent from Meta, especially considering Ripple's own recent moves in the stablecoin space — the company had launched its native stablecoin.
Meta's stablecoin ambitions aren't new.
In 2019, when still known as Facebook, the company launched the Libra project, planning to issue a dollar-pegged digital asset backed by a basket of fiat currencies with a target launch date of January 2021.
Those plans collapsed amid regulatory pressure, prompting a rebrand to "Diem" in December 2020 in an attempt to shed negative associations. The division eventually shut down, with its intellectual property sold to Silvergate Bank, which later filed for bankruptcy.
Meta's renewed interest coincides with a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under US President Donald Trump's administration.
The company joins a growing list of major firms embracing stablecoins
Visa recently invested in stablecoin startup BVNK
Stripe launched stablecoin-based accounts for customers in over 100 countries
World Liberty Financial, backed by Trump, launched USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin that rapidly became the seventh-largest by market cap
The total stablecoin supply currently sits at $242 billion, dominated by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC.
With Standard Chartered predicting the stablecoin market could grow by $2 trillion by the end of 2028, Meta's timing could prove strategic despite the recent failure of the GENIUS Stablecoin bill after Democratic Senators withdrew their support.
It’s an opportunity for Meta to do more than streamline payments, to potentially reshape the future of digital finance.
That opportunity clearly hasn't been lost on Mark Zuckerberg.