After three years of shelving its cryptocurrency plans, Meta is returning to the blockchain world, reportedly negotiating with multiple crypto companies for stablecoin applications, targeting cross-border payments and the creator economy.
Zuckerberg’s former crypto dream rekindled
Remember the ambitious cryptocurrency project “Libra” (Diem) proposed by Meta (then still called Facebook) in 2019? This initiative, which aimed to enable global digital payments across platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, was ultimately shelved due to strong opposition from Congress and regulatory agencies. Now, according to several sources, Meta appears ready to re-enter the cryptocurrency space, though this time focusing on lower-risk stablecoins.
(Meta Blockchain Project Head: Diem’s failure was a political issue rather than regulatory, revealing significant political and banking interests behind it)
Meta rekindles interest, actively engaging with crypto companies
According to an exclusive report from Fortune, Meta is currently in discussions with several crypto infrastructure companies regarding the potential application of stablecoins in the payment sector. Five insiders revealed that these negotiations are still in the early stages, but Meta seems quite interested in the “low transaction fees and fast cross-border transfers” characteristics of stablecoins.
A senior executive from a crypto infrastructure company pointed out that Meta’s Instagram may adopt stablecoins as a tool for making small payments (e.g., $100) to global creators, thereby saving on traditional fiat transfer fees.
Key personnel layout reignites confidence?
In January of this year, Meta hired Ginger Baker as Vice President of Product, further indicating the company’s emphasis on fintech and crypto payments. According to her LinkedIn profile, Baker has a rich fintech background, having worked at Plaid and served as a director at the Stellar Development Foundation (which manages a Layer 1 blockchain).
Insiders disclosed that Baker is assisting in advancing Meta’s stablecoin exploration project. However, Meta has not publicly commented on this nor arranged for Baker to be interviewed.
Industry players are active, stablecoins are heating up
Meta’s movements come as the entire stablecoin market is rapidly warming up. Following Donald Trump’s election as U.S. President last November, coupled with a loosening of the Biden administration’s stringent regulations on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins have once again garnered attention from the market and enterprises.
Not only that, but major payment platform Stripe recently acquired stablecoin startup Bridge for $1.1 billion and announced a partnership with Visa for stablecoin infrastructure. Fidelity also announced it is developing its own stablecoin product, indicating that traditional financial institutions are fully embracing blockchain payments.
Old dreams rekindled? Lessons from Libra’s failure
Meta’s past ambitions in the crypto field once shocked the entire financial system. The “Libra” project gathered heavyweight companies like Uber and PayPal, intending to launch a global stablecoin backed by multiple fiat currencies. Later renamed “Diem,” it was ultimately forced to terminate in 2022, with related assets sold to the crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank.
Although the Diem project has been shelved, the technical expertise and personnel from the Libra team have not dissipated. For instance, David Marcus founded the Bitcoin payment infrastructure company Lightspark; other former employees developed blockchain projects like Aptos and Sui, utilizing the Move programming language developed by Meta.
Zuckerberg admits “Diem is dead” but adopts an open attitude
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted this week at the Stripe conference that the Diem project has failed: “That thing is dead.” However, he also added that while Meta often becomes an early mover in tech trends, it sometimes lags behind market trends, stating, “We are also good at playing catch-up.”
This statement seems to indicate a strategic shift for Meta regarding stablecoins, moving from creating a global currency to seeking practical applications such as micropayments, creator compensation, and cross-border transfers.
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries a high level of risk, and its prices can be extremely volatile, potentially resulting in total loss of principal. Please assess the risks carefully.