Meta (META), the social media giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has started to offer stablecoin payout to creators, signaling a return to crypto-powered payments years after shelving its Libra project.
The feature is currently available to a limited group of creators in Colombia and the Philippines, as reported by a Meta website. Eligible users can link a crypto wallet and receive payouts in Circle’s USDC token on the Solana or Polygon blockchain networks.
The service is supported by payments firm Stripe, which will provide crypto-related reporting for users. Creators may receive tax documents from both Meta and Stripe tied to their earnings and digital asset transactions. A Stripe spokesperson verified the company’s involvement to CoinDesk.
“Businesses can now send stablecoin payouts directly to customers using Link,” stated Jay Shah, head of Link at Stripe, referring to the company’s customer checkout service. “We’re already partnering with Meta so their creators can receive stablecoins in their Link wallets in countries like the Philippines and Colombia.”
The news comes after Meta sought the help of third-party vendors to administer stablecoin payments on its platforms, with Stripe among the leading contenders for the integration, CoinDesk reported in February.
The move puts Meta, with over 3 billion users across its social media platforms globally, among the largest tech firms experimenting with stablecoins for real-world payments, using blockchain rails to move money globally to users without relying on traditional banking systems. Stablecoins — cryptocurrencies whose prices are tied to fiat currencies — are increasingly viewed as a faster and cheaper payment method. Visa, for example, reported that it’s stablecoin settlement network hit $7 billion in annualized transaction volume, growing 50% in a quarter.
The initiative marks Meta’s return to stablecoins after it attempted to introduce the Libra token, later renamed Diem, only to shut down the project amid regulatory scrutiny in 2022.
Read more: Stripe doubles down on blockchain and stablecoins, aiming to become ‘AWS for money’
UPDATE (April 29, 20:22 UTC): Adds statement from Jay Shah, Stripe’s head of Link.
