Meta (META), the social media giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has begun offering stablecoin payouts 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, according to a Meta website. Eligible users can link a crypto wallet and receive payouts in the Circles USDC token on the Solana or Polygon blockchain networks.
The service is supported by payment company Stripe, which will provide crypto-related reporting to users. Creators can receive tax documents from both Meta and Stripe related to their earnings and digital asset transactions. A Stripe spokesperson confirmed the company’s involvement to CoinDesk.
“Companies can now send stablecoin payouts directly to customers using Link,” said Jay Shah, head of Link at Stripe, referring to the company’s customer service. “We already partner 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 help from third-party vendors to manage stablecoin payments on its platforms, with Stripe among the leading contenders for the integration, CoinDesk reported in February.
The move places Meta, with over 3 billion users across its social media platforms globally, among the biggest tech companies 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 seen as a faster and cheaper method of payment. Visa, for example, reported that its stablecoin settlement network hit $7 billion in annual transaction volume, growing 50% in one 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, aims to become ‘AWS for the money’
UPDATE (April 29, 20:22 UTC): Adds statement from Jay Shah, Stripe’s Head of Link.
