Meta is reportedly exploring the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments. The company is in talks with various crypto firms and plans to utilize multiple types of stablecoins, according to an unnamed source quoted by Fortune on May 8.
The idea is to facilitate international transactions without incurring the fees typically associated with wire transfers or other payment methods. For instance, Meta could potentially use stablecoins to make small payments to creators in different regions.
This initiative comes three years after Meta abandoned plans to partner with other companies for a stablecoin launch. Initially announced in 2019 under the names Libra and later Diem, the project was scrapped in early 2022 due to regulatory pushback.
In a response to Fortune’s report, Andy Stone, Director of Meta Communications, clarified that Diem is “dead” and stressed that there are currently no plans for a Meta stablecoin.
The renewed interest in stablecoins at Meta coincides with a shift in the political landscape, as the new Trump administration appears more favorable to cryptocurrency compared to the previous Biden administration. Additionally, stablecoins are gaining traction in the financial sector.
This growing interest in stablecoins is underscored by recent developments, including Stripe’s acquisition of the Bridge payments platform, Visa’s partnership with Bridge, and Fidelity’s plans to develop its own stablecoin to engage in the expanding market for tokenized U.S. Treasury assets.
Stablecoins offer several advantages, such as faster transactions and the ability to operate across borders with ease.
When announcing its acquisition of Bridge, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison expressed that stablecoins represent a transformative opportunity for financial services, promising significant improvements in speed, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness for businesses globally in the coming years.
Visa’s collaboration with Bridge, revealed in April, aims to enable the offering of stablecoin-linked Visa cards to consumers through Bridge’s orchestration platform. Meanwhile, Fidelity, which oversees over $5 trillion in assets, has also been preparing to introduce its own stablecoin in response to the burgeoning market for tokenized U.S. Treasury assets.
