U.S. tech large Meta, led by Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg, goals to enter the stablecoin area later this 12 months, pending a profitable integration with a third-party firm to facilitate funds utilizing dollar-pegged token know-how, in line with three individuals aware of the plans.
The tech large, which owns Fb, WhatsApp and Instagram and has greater than 3 billion customers, hopes to start out integrating stablecoins as early because the second half of this 12 months, one of many individuals mentioned, asking to not be recognized as a result of the plans are non-public. Meta plans to combine distributors to assist handle stablecoin-backed funds and implement new wallets, the individuals mentioned.
The second particular person mentioned Meta despatched out a request for product (RFP) to third-party firms and named Stripe as a probable candidate to pilot Meta’s stablecoin.
Stripe, which acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge final 12 months, is a long-time accomplice of Meta, and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta’s board in April 2025.
We reached out to Meta, Stripe, and Bridge for remark, however none responded by press time.
By launching its personal stablecoin, Meta may open up fee rails to a big consumer base whereas avoiding costly conventional banking charges, doubtlessly establishing itself as a world chief in “social commerce” and cross-border remittances.
The transfer additionally places the tech large in direct competitors with the likes of Elon Musk’s social media platform X and messaging platform Telegram. Each firms goal to convey funds internally by changing into “tremendous apps.” This was one of many authentic objectives of the deliberate Libra challenge, which was to permit social media firms to leverage their huge community for funds, together with WhatsApp’s peer-to-peer messaging service, Fb and Instagram’s networks and commerce instruments.
Regulatory transition
Meta famously tried to introduce the Libra stablecoin (later renamed Diem) in 2019, solely to face robust headwinds resulting from a much less favorable regulatory atmosphere and lingering reputational injury from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Going through pushback from U.S. lawmakers in opposition to the challenge, the group then known as the Libra Affiliation scaled again its ambitions in 2020, pivoting to growing a variety of stablecoins pegged to a wide range of currencies, versus preliminary plans for a world digital forex backed by a basket of nationwide currencies.
Ultimately, the Meta stablecoin was by no means formally launched, the challenge was shut down, and the belongings had been offered off in early 2022.
As we speak’s U.S. regulatory atmosphere is kind of completely different. A number of crypto regulatory regimes are within the works, together with President Donald Trump’s GENIUS Act. This establishes authorized footing for US stablecoin issuers for the primary time and opens the floodgates to new token market entrants. Nonetheless, U.S. regulators are solely within the early phases of drafting laws governing issuers.
That mentioned, one of many sources mentioned the entire Libra/Diem expertise has led to Meta preferring to depend on third-party stablecoin fee suppliers this time round.
“They need to do that, however at arm’s size,” the supply mentioned.
