The bigtech firm has a long-standing interest in deploying stablecoin payments to its three billion global social media users, but is now taking a different approach.
Meta is set to support third-party stablecoins in a bid to enable stablecoin payments across its social media platforms.
Meta Vice-President of Communications, Andy Stone, emphasised in a post on X that the company will not be launching a native Meta stablecoin.
Stone’s comments come as reports emerged the tech giant intends to introduce stablecoin payments using US dollar-denominated stablecoins on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
According to multiple anonymous sources cited by CoinDesk, Meta has already spoken to third-party companies to provide its infrastructure for the stablecoin integration via a request for product submissions to various firms.
Stripe was mentioned as one of the companies as a candidate to become the stablecoin vendor for Meta. The payments processor acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge in February 2025 for over $1bn.
Sources close to the matter revealed Meta intends to create a dedicated stablecoin digital wallet to help perform transactions that are compatible with popular USD stablecoins, such as USDT and USDC.
The stablecoin payment integration will support Meta’s continued push into peer-to-peer payments; the tech giant already supports digital wallets including PayPal via Meta Pay. The company has also piloted crypto transactions via Instagram with the integration of Web3 digital wallets MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet.
“It’s also important to keep in mind that we already support over 50 currencies in more than 100 countries, digital wallets, instant account-to-account payments, debit and credit cards, as well as local payment methods like PIX and UPI,” added Stone.
Payment Expert reached out to Stripe for comment.
The Stripe connection
Stripe is likely to be viewed as the early favourite to become Meta’s stablecoin payment vendor due to the two companies’ close relationship.
The company has already lent its payment processing services to Meta in the past, powering payment acceptance on WhatsApp in 2023 for businesses to perform payments on the messaging platform.
Ties between the two companies grew even closer when Stripe’s CEO Patrick Collison was appointed to Meta’s Board of Directors in April 2025. He previously served on Meta’s advisory board, having first joined in 2024.
“Patrick brings[s] a lot of experience supporting businesses and entrepreneurs to our board. Patrick is deeply committed to expanding economic opportunity,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“[His] perspective will be extremely valuable to businesses that rely on our services to grow.”
Stripe has been building out its stablecoin capabilities since acquiring Bridge in a $1.1bn record fee paid for a stablecoin infrastructure company.
Bridge provides businesses with stablecoin payment orchestration, integrating its APIs to support the acceptance of payments and the conversion of stablecoins to fiat currencies. The company also provides embedded services such as its Wallet-as-a-Service offering, integrating digital wallets that support stablecoin payments.
Julie Sutton, Head of Growth Europe at Paymentology, told Payment Expert she believes this is an indication of where payment settlement infrastructure is heading; blockchain-based payment rails much faster than traditional ones that can be accessed seamlessly on social media apps for convenient and instant satisfaction.
“Stablecoins are increasingly viable for cross-border payments and embedded commerce, both of which align directly with Meta’s platform ambitions across WhatsApp and Instagram,” says Sutton. “For a company processing social transactions at that scale, dollar-pegged stablecoins offer speed and cost advantages that traditional rails struggle to match.
What will matter now is execution: the wallet infrastructure, the compliance architecture, and whether their third-party partners can deliver real-time settlement with the resilience these volumes demand.”
A shift away from Libra/Diem
Zuckerberg and Meta’s revived interest in stablecoins comes following the collapse of its native digital currency project Libra, which was later renamed Diem.
In 2019, while still under the moniker Facebook, the tech and social media company announced plans to introduce a peer-to-peer digital currency designed for in-house payments on its social media platforms.
The ‘Libra’ currency was to be backed 1:1 with fiat currencies such as the US dollar and the Euro, and be stored within the dedicated digital wallet, Novi. Meta’s intentions for Libra was to help its multi-billion person social media user base access instant, cheaper payments with the simplicity of sending to other users across the world within its social media network.
However, Libra faced immediate backlash from global governments, central banks and policymakers. The main concern was due to Facebook’s mass user base being able to use the digital currency over fiat currencies that could threaten their sovereignty and cause global financial instability.
Despite the backing of Spotify and Uber, Libra quickly faded and its assets were eventually sold to Silvergate Capital in 2022 where it was renamed Diem.
During a Stripe conference in May 2025, Zuckerberg acknowledged the Libra project in a discussion with Collison, in which he said “that thing’s dead” according to a video.
“Two things have fundamentally shifted since Meta’s Libra attempt in 2019: regulatory clarity and market proof,” MANSA CEO, Mouloukou Sanoh, tells Payment Expert.
“In 2019, Meta was asking permission to build something regulators didn’t understand and didn’t trust. Today, stablecoins are processing hundreds of billions in transaction volume annually, with regulatory guardrails in place. The question is no longer ‘should this exist?’ but ‘how do we govern it properly?’
Sanoh notes payment companies are already using stablecoins to move “real money across real corridors”, delivering measurable cost reductions and speed improvements. He stresses the industry has moved from a ‘this could work’ to ‘this is working’ mindset.
“Meta is not taking a punt on unproven technology. They are entering a market that has already demonstrated demand.”
Why now?
While Zuckerberg may have been one of the first bigtech executives to realise the potential of stablecoins, the notion of said assets has exploded in popularity and usage in recent years.
The global stablecoin market cap has exceeded $300bn, according to Coinmarketcap, as key traditional finance players have begun to develop use cases and pilots.
“Meta exploring stablecoin payments is another sign that stablecoins are moving from “crypto” into everyday payments,” says Luke Wingfield-Digby, Co-Founder and Head of Corporate Development at Orbital.
“With billions of users, even narrow use cases like peer-to-peer transfers, marketplace payments, creator payouts or low-value cross-border transfers could help normalise digital dollars and reduce the cost and friction versus cards and correspondent banking.”
Mastercard and Visa developed use cases for stablecoin payment acceptance last year, while several European banks, including Deutsche Bank, BBVA and ING, created Qivalis with the goal of creating a euro-denominated stablecoin to combat the market stronghold US dollar-stabeleoins currently have.
With this surge in stablecoin interest, regulatory frameworks and legislation have also been developed. The US, in particular, passed the GENIUS Act in July 2025 to become the country’s first stablecoin-focused framework for issuance and payment guidelines.
Competitor social media platforms, such as Elon Musk’s X, have also explored the integration of digital currency peer-to-peer payments onto their apps.
“For this to work, Meta will need a regulatory-led approach using fully backed by reserves stablecoins issued by regulated entities, with transparent attestations, clear redemption rights and robust safeguarding and partnering with licensed payment providers for AML/sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, fraud controls and customer support,” says Wingfield-Digby.
