In a notable move, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has started offering payouts in stablecoins to its creators, marking a resurgence in crypto-based payments after abandoning its Libra project. This feature is currently limited to a specific group of creators in Colombia and the Philippines, as per the information available on Meta's website.
Eligible creators can link their crypto wallets and receive payouts in USDC, a stablecoin issued by Circle, on the Solana or Polygon blockchain networks. This initiative is supported by Stripe, a payments firm, which will handle crypto-related reporting for users. As a result, creators may receive tax documents from both Meta and Stripe related to their earnings and digital asset transactions. A spokesperson from Stripe confirmed the company's involvement in this project.
Jay Shah, the head of Link at Stripe, stated, 'Businesses can now make stablecoin payouts directly to customers using Link. We are already partnering with Meta to enable their creators to receive stablecoins in their Link wallets in countries such as the Philippines and Colombia.' This development comes after Meta sought assistance from third-party vendors to facilitate stablecoin payments on its platforms, with Stripe being one of the top contenders for this integration. By doing so, Meta, with its vast user base of over 3 billion people globally, becomes one of the largest tech companies to experiment with stablecoins for real-world payments, leveraging blockchain technology to transfer money globally without relying on traditional banking systems.
Stablecoins, whose prices are pegged to fiat currencies, are increasingly being viewed as a faster and more cost-effective payment method. For instance, Visa reported that its stablecoin settlement network reached $7 billion in annualized transaction volume, witnessing a 50% growth in just a quarter. This initiative marks Meta's return to stablecoins after its attempt to launch the Libra token, later renamed Diem, which was shut down in 2022 due to regulatory scrutiny.