In a significant move, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has introduced stablecoin payouts for creators, marking a revival of its crypto-powered payment endeavors after abandoning the Libra project. Currently, this feature is available to a limited number of creators in Colombia and the Philippines, who can link their crypto wallets to receive payouts in USDC, a stablecoin by Circle, on the Solana or Polygon blockchain networks. This service is facilitated by Stripe, a payments firm that will also provide users with crypto-related reporting, potentially including tax documents from both Meta and Stripe related to their earnings and digital asset transactions. According to Jay Shah, head of Link at Stripe, the company's customer checkout service, Link, now enables businesses to send stablecoin payouts directly to customers, with Meta being one of the partners to utilize this service for its creators in countries like the Philippines and Colombia.
This development follows Meta's search for third-party vendors to manage stablecoin payments, with Stripe emerging as a key contender. By embracing stablecoins for real-world payments, Meta joins the ranks of large tech companies leveraging blockchain technology for global transactions, bypassing traditional banking systems.
Stablecoins, with their prices pegged to fiat currencies, are gaining recognition for their speed and cost-effectiveness in payments. For instance, Visa reported a significant growth in its stablecoin settlement network, reaching $7 billion in annualized transaction volume. This move signifies Meta's re-entry into the stablecoin arena after its previous attempt with the Libra token, later renamed Diem, which was discontinued due to regulatory pressures in 2022.