Social media giant Meta is reportedlyworking to introduce stablecoins to its platform on several fronts, though the purpose is yet unclear – possibly to save on transaction fees.
According to Fortune, citing several sources familiar with the matter, Meta is in talks with more than one crypto firm to add stablecoins to manage payouts. Allegedly, the discussions began earlier this year, currently being at a preliminary stage.
Moreover, the sources note that the company’s focus is on the benefits that stablecoins provide in comparison to fiat. Namely, they’re interested in low-cost cross-border payouts.
Also, there are claims that Instagram, Meta’s subsidiary, could utilize stablecoins for small payouts up to $100 to creators worldwide. The reasoning behind this is that Meta would be spending less money on fees.
It seems certain that Meta would not be launching its own coin. Andy Stone, Meta’s Communication Director, highlighted Mark Zuckerberg’s recent statement that the company’s stablecoin project, Diem, is dead.
However, a source said the company is in “learn mode” and would likely partner with more than one stablecoin provider.
Another claim is that the man leading these discussions is Circle’s Senior Director of Business Development Matt Cavin. Up until March, he served as an executive at Web3 gaming company Immutable.
Moreover, Ginger Baker, whom Meta hired as a VP of product in January, is reportedly helping the stablecoin effort. Baker is a crypto native who has served on the board of the Stellar Development Foundation, and previously served as a senior director of product at Ripple.
Meta declined to comment.
The company shook the financial world when it announced its Libra/Diem project in 2019. Following the establishment of the blockchain division in 2018, and before its formal introduction, the stablecoin was mostly known as ‘Facebook Coin’ or ‘GlobalCoin.’ However, Meta faced massive pushback from the US regulators and policymakers, terminating the project in 2022.
Stablecoins on the Rise
Interest in stablecoins is increasing across the board. This is primarily due to the institutional interest, boosted by significant technological progress over the years, as well as recent favorable political winds globally in general, and from the US in particular.
Total stablecoins market capitalization currently stands at $242.805 billion, according to DeFiLlama. It has been steadily increasing over the past year, hitting one record high after the other.
Source: DeFiLlama
Standard Chartered Bank recently predicted that the stablecoin market could go up by about 10-fold to $2 trillion within the next three years. Citigroup projected that the market cap could surpass $2 trillion by 2030.
Also, as reported last week, Ethereum’s stablecoin market cap has increased to $124.5 billion. Notably, Ethereum’s stablecoin market has become the dominant layer for digital dollar liquidity.
At the same time, USDT’s dominance is currently 62%, followed by USDC’s 25%.
Source: DeFiLlama
Meanwhile, in the US, the lawmakers are discussing stablecoin-related bills, though they seem to have come to an impasse. The Senate failed to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Acton during the Thursday vote.
This was the result of a divide over crypto policy and concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrencies, including Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial’s launching the USD1 stablecoin.
Meanwhile, among many companies making stablecoin strides, payments giant Mastercard enabled 150 million merchants across its network to receive payments in stablecoins in late April. BVNK, a major stablecoin payment infrastructure provider, secured a strategic investment from Visa through the latter’s Visa Ventures arm. The company plans to expand its operations in the US.
Also, major payments company Stripe recently introduced the Stablecoin Financial Accounts, which allows companies in 101 countries to hold and transact in stablecoins.
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