Meta explores launching its own nonvolatile cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar

Stablecoins, a form of nonvolatile cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar, have long been a buzzy product in the blockchain industry

A rendering of the Meta logo is seen on a smartphone screen.

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The Biden administration’s vigorous anti-crypto policies may have limited the mainstream adoption of stablecoins, but Donald Trump’s election last November, along with the recent $1.1 billion acquisition of the stablecoin startup Bridge by payment giant Stripe, have spurred their use in the broader financial world—especially as a form of cross-border payments.

In the past month, Visa announced a partnership with the stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge; the financial firm Fidelity revealed it is developing its own stablecoin; and Stripe unveiled new financial accounts powered by stablecoins.

The growing interest in stablecoins among non-crypto companies also comes as congressional lawmakers are discussing two bills that would regulate stablecoins after years of regulatory uncertainty.

Meta’s subsidiary Instagram could integrate stablecoins to facilitate small payouts in the range of $100 to creators in different markets, which would result in lower fees than if paid by fiat currencies, suggested one executive at a crypto infrastructure company, who said the talks are ongoing. The executive added that Meta is in “learn mode” and would likely be agnostic toward the type of stablecoin it used, rather than choosing one provider, such as Circle’s USDC. Two other crypto executives also told Fortune they have held early discussions with Meta focused on the payouts use case.

Meanwhile, Circle hired Matt Cavin in March from the gaming blockchain company Immutable. He’s leading discussions with Meta and other Big Tech firms, according to one source familiar with the matter. Cavin’s LinkedIn profile describes his current role at Circle as leading “tier-1 strategic partnerships,” without specifying the companies with which he’s working.

Meta declined to make available for comment a VP of product who started at the company in January and is helping steer its fintech explorations: Ginger Baker, who previously worked as an executive at the fintech company Plaid and still serves on the board of the Stellar Development Foundation, a crypto organization that manages a layer 1 blockchain.

Meta reached out earlier this year to crypto infrastructure companies, according to three people familiar with the matter. The discussions remain at a preliminary stage, but they focus on a key feature offered by stablecoins compared with fiat currency—the ability to pay individuals across different regions without the high fees associated with other forms of payments, such as wire transfers.

One executive at a crypto infrastructure provider suggested Instagram could integrate stablecoins to facilitate small payouts in the range of $100 to creators in different markets, which would result in lower fees than if paid by fiat currencies. The executive described Meta as being in “learn mode” and would likely be agnostic toward the type of stablecoin it used, rather than choosing one provider, such as Circle’s USDC. Two other crypto executives also told Fortune they have held early discussions with Meta focused on the payouts use case.

One executive at a crypto infrastructure provider suggested Instagram could integrate stablecoins to facilitate small payouts in the range of $100 to creators in different markets, which would result in lower fees than if paid by fiat currencies. The executive described Meta as being in “learn mode” and would likely be agnostic toward the type of stablecoin it used, rather than choosing one provider, such as Circle’s USDC. Two other crypto executives also told Fortune they have held early discussions with Meta focused on the payouts use case.

Meanwhile, Circle hired Matt Cavin in March from the gaming blockchain company Immutable. He’s leading discussions with Meta and other Big Tech firms, according to one source familiar with the matter. Cavin’s LinkedIn profile describes his current role at Circle as leading “tier-1 strategic partnerships,” without specifying the companies with which he’s working.

Circle declined to comment.

Meta’s exploration of stablecoins is especially noteworthy since it was once the most high-profile Big Tech firm to attempt integrating crypto. In 2019, Meta announced a blockchain initiative that evolved into Libra, a proposed consortium of companies including Uber and PayPal that would launch a stablecoin backed by a basket of fiat currencies. After renaming the project Diem, Meta abandoned it in early 2022 amid regulatory scrutiny. Meta sold Diem’s assets to the crypto-friendly bank Silvergate.

A number of employees who worked on Libra went on to start their own crypto companies, including David Marcus, who cofounded the Bitcoin payment infrastructure company Lightspark. Other alumni have also gone on to repurpose Meta’s technology to launch their own blockchains. The most notable are the founders of Aptos and Sui, two blockchains that run on a proprietary programming language developed by Meta called Move.

On Tuesday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared at a Stripe conference, where he acknowledged Diem’s failure in an onstage discussion with Stripe cofounder John Collison, according to a video provided to Fortune. “That thing’s dead,” Zuckerberg said.

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