Meta is renewing its ties with the crypto world. Three years after abandoning Diem, its aborted stablecoin project under pressure from regulators, the tech giant is changing strategy. Rather than creating its own digital currency, the company now plans to integrate the stablecoins already established on Facebook and Instagram, with the aim of facilitating payments to content creators while reducing the costs associated with cross-border transfers.
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Meta adopts crypto to pay Facebook creators
Meta doesn’t seem ready to give up on its ambition to integrate crypto into its services. Several years after putting an end to its controversial Diem (formerly Libra) the company is now exploring new avenues. According to sources quoted by Fortune, Meta progress towards stablecoin adoption. The main aim of this initiative would be to facilitate small payments to content creators in different parts of the world, significantly reducing the costs associated with traditional bank transfers.
To make this project a reality, Meta has recruited Ginger Baker, former Ripple executive to the strategic position of Vice-President of Products. The company has also reportedly initiated discussions with several crypto companies to explore ways of minimizing the costs associated with cross-regional payments. This move comes in a favorable context, already with the US administration adopting a more conciliatory stance towards cryptos since the inauguration of the current President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Meta seems to have learned from its past failure, this time rather than developing its own stablecoin, the company is open to using existing solutions. This approach could enable it to avoid the regulatory pitfalls that led to Diem’s failure, while benefiting from the infrastructure and trust already established by issuers such as Circle (USDC) or Tether (USDT).
From Diem’s failure to new market opportunities
Meta’s history with cryptos is littered with disappointed ambitions, maybe this time will be the charm. In 2019, then known as Facebook, the company had launched Libra, a stablecoin project backed by a basket of fiat currencies. Despite initial support from partners such as Uber and PayPal the initiative met with fierce opposition from US regulators and legislators, leading to its abandonment in early 2022.
However, this setback did not entirely extinguish the Californian giant’s crypto ambitions. The company has filed several trademark applications in 2022 and 2023 for projects related to digital assets, such as crypto trading and digital asset exchange services.
The current environment, however, seems much more propitious. The stablecoin market has matured considerably, with total supply reaching $232.14 billion.
The meta initiative, a boost for the global adoption of cryptos?
Meta’s integration of stablecoins could represent a major upheaval for cryptocurrency adoption worldwide. According to data from Statista for January 2025, Meta has an unprecedented digital empire. Facebook, its main platform, has 3.07 billion active users, making it the world’s most popular social network. Instagram and WhatsApp each reach 2 billion users, while Messenger completes this ecosystem with 947 million users.
This dominant presence in the social media landscape offers Meta considerable leverage. By integrating stablecoins into its platforms, the company could introduce over 7 billion user accounts to crypto payments.
If Meta succeeds this time around, the entire crypto ecosystem is likely to emerge stronger. Wait and see!
As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
