Meta explores stablecoins to reduce payment costs years after selling off failed Diem project: report

Tech giant Meta is considering stablecoin integration years after suspending its previous crypto project, Diem, Fortune reported, citing five people familiar with the matter.

Meta reportedly plans to use stablecoins to reduce the costs of payments compared to fiat currency, such as when paying Instagram creators. The firm doesn't appear to have a specific stablecoin in mind at the moment.

Notably, Meta hired former Ripple executive Ginger Baker as vice president of product, and has allegedly contacted crypto infrastructure firms to look into lowering the fees associated with cross-regional payments. Ripple is launching its own native stablecoin and has offered to purchase the second-largest stablecoin issuer, Circle.

Meta's rekindled interest in integrating stablecoins comes as U.S. regulators adopt a friendlier approach toward cryptocurrency following President Trump's inauguration. Big tech firms, banks, and stablecoin providers are all jockeying on how to shape United States stablecoin regulation.

The Block reached out to Meta for comment.

Meta's past stablecoin plans

In 2019, Meta, at the time known as Facebook, launched a stablecoin division called Libra that would support a dollar-pegged digital asset backed by a basket of fiat currencies. The firm planned to launch a stablecoin in January 2021, before plans fell through following a regulatory clampdown. Libra later rebranded to Diem in December 2020 in an attempt to rid itself of its largely negative reputation.

The Diem division ultimately shut down, and its intellectual property was sold off to Silvergate Bank , which later went into bankruptcy. However, the project lives on in newer blockchains like Aptos, Movement, and Sei, which are all built using Diem's bespoke MOVE programming language without Meta's involvement.

Meta has not lost all interest in crypto throughout the years. The firm submitted trademark applications in 2022 and 2023 for digital asset-related projects, such as crypto trading, blockchain-focused hardware, and digital asset exchange services — and subsequently drew concern from lawmakers, including California Democrat Maxine Waters, The Block previously reported.

The total stablecoin supply sits at $232.14 billion as of May 8, largely comprised of Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, The Block's Data Dashboard shows.