Meta stablecoin gains renewed payments push with Stripe

After years of setbacks, Meta stablecoin plans are quietly resurfacing as the tech giant looks to weave crypto-based payments into its vast social platforms.

Meta revives stablecoin ambitions with third-party partner

Meta, led by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, is preparing a renewed push into the stablecoin market in the second half of this year, according to three people familiar with the initiative. The U.S. technology group wants to enable payments using dollar-pegged token infrastructure, but crucially via a third-party vendor rather than issuing and running everything itself.

The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram and serves more than 3 billion users globally, aims to start its stablecoin integration early in the second half of the year, one source said. Moreover, Meta is planning to bolt on an external provider to administer stablecoin-backed payments and to roll out a new wallet designed for digital transactions across its apps.

Stripe, Bridge and Meta’s new payments stack

A second person familiar with the plans said Meta has already issued a formal request for product, or RFP, to several third-party firms seeking support for stablecoin payments integration. That person identified Stripe as a leading contender to pilot the stablecoin solution on Meta platforms, given its existing role in digital payments and prior collaboration with the social media group.

Stripe, which acquired stablecoin specialist Bridge last year, has a long-standing relationship with Meta, and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta’s board of directors in April 2025. However, despite the deep ties and market speculation about a broader Stripe Bridge partnership, none of the companies involved have publicly confirmed any new initiative.

Meta, Stripe and Bridge were all approached for comment on the plans, but none had responded by the time of publication. That said, the combination of Meta’s enormous distribution and Stripe’s infrastructure has already fueled expectations that a new wave of stablecoin-based consumer payments could be imminent.

From Libra to Diem to a new Meta stablecoin architecture

Launching its own stablecoin, or closely integrating a third-party token, would allow Meta to open new payment rails for its global user base while sidestepping many traditional banking fees. Moreover, the move could help solidify Meta’s position in social commerce and cross-border flows by enabling cheaper and faster cross border remittances for users sending money across different markets.

The strategy would also intensify competition with rivals such as Elon Musk‘s social platform X and messaging app Telegram, both of which are pursuing “super app” models that bring payments in-house. This broad vision closely echoes Meta’s original Libra project, which aimed to route peer-to-peer transfers across WhatsApp and monetize Facebook and Instagram’s network and commerce tools through integrated payments and in-app financial services.

During that earlier phase, Meta intended to become a global payments layer for its social ecosystem, but its plans collided with political and regulatory concerns in key jurisdictions. However, lessons from the libra diem history now appear to be informing a more cautious and partnership-driven approach.

Regulatory climate shifts since Libra and Diem

Meta first attempted to launch the Libra stablecoin in 2019, later rebranding it as Diem, only to run into fierce opposition from regulators and lawmakers. At the time, the project faced a significantly less favorable regulatory environment than today, compounded by reputational damage linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Under pressure from U.S. officials, the Libra Association scaled back its vision in 2020. Instead of pursuing a single global digital currency backed by a basket of national currencies, it pivoted to developing several stablecoins each pegged to individual fiat currencies. However, despite the redesign, the rebranded Diem initiative never reached full launch stage.

Ultimately, Meta’s previous stablecoin project was wound down, with its assets sold off in early 2022. Moreover, the failure underscored the challenges of directly issuing a high-profile global digital currency from within a major social media company, especially one already under intense political scrutiny.

New U.S. rules encourage a different model

The regulatory landscape in the United States has shifted markedly since the Libra and Diem era. There are now several crypto regulatory frameworks in motion, including President Donald Trump‘s GENIUS Act, which, for the first time, lays out a legal foundation for U.S. stablecoin issuers. As a result, that legislation has effectively opened the door for new entrants launching tokenized dollar products.

However, even with the GENIUS Act and other initiatives, U.S. regulators remain at a relatively early stage in drafting and finalizing comprehensive rules for stablecoin issuers. The evolving policy environment still leaves significant uncertainty for any large technology company contemplating direct issuance of a digital dollar token at scale.

That said, the bruising experience around Libra and Diem appears to have pushed Meta toward a model that relies more heavily on external providers this time. According to one source, the current meta stablecoin architecture is explicitly designed so that Meta can reap the benefits of tokenized payments while delegating many regulatory and operational burdens to licensed partners.

Arm’s-length execution and new wallet plans

One person familiar with the company’s thinking said Meta wants to enable stablecoin functionality “at arm’s length” rather than controlling every aspect of issuance and custody. In practice, this would mean leaning on an approved vendor to handle the underlying token, compliance and settlement, while Meta focuses on user experience and distribution.

Moreover, Meta is working on a new wallet concept that would sit across its flagship apps, enabling users to store and spend digital value inside Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Although details remain sparse, a future meta wallet launch could bundle stablecoin support with existing commerce tools, advertising products and creator monetization features.

If successful, this architecture could create a powerful closed-loop payments environment embedded in the apps people already use daily. However, regulators are likely to scrutinize any such rollout closely, given Meta’s history and the systemic implications of placing large-scale digital money rails inside global social networks.

Implications for social commerce and global payments

For Meta, the reward could be significant. A robust stablecoin layer would reduce friction for in-app purchases, creator payouts and advertising transactions, giving the company more control over social commerce payments. Moreover, merchants operating on Instagram and Facebook could see faster settlement times and lower payment processing costs compared with traditional card networks.

On the user side, cheaper and more direct international transfers could make Meta’s messaging platforms more attractive for everyday financial activity, not just communication. That said, the company still needs to prove that it can deliver a trustworthy, compliant and user-friendly system after the high-profile collapse of its earlier stablecoin ambitions.

All told, Meta’s new approach signals a pragmatic shift away from building a standalone global currency and toward embedding regulated stablecoin rails into its existing products through partners. If the integrations land as planned in the second half of this year, they could mark one of the most consequential attempts yet to merge mainstream social media with large-scale digital payments.