From Libra to a USD Stablecoin: Meta’s Long Road Back…

Published: September 16, 2026 – 17:32 UTC

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Meta began paying creators in USDC stablecoins across Colombia and the Philippines in April 2026 through a Stripe partnership using Polygon and Solana blockchains.
The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, created the federal stablecoin framework that Meta lacked when regulators shut down the Libra project in 2022.
Stripe agreed to acquire crypto infrastructure firm Bridge for approximately $1.1 billion in October 2024, and Bridge received conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter.
Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the program could expand to more than 160 countries by the end of 2026, targeting small cross-border transfers where wire fees consume disproportionate value.
Former Diem head David Marcus called the original project's death a political kill, stating U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the Fed that approving Diem was political suicide.

Meta started sending stablecoin payouts to creators in Colombia and the Philippines in April 2026, four years after selling off the remnants of its Libra project to Silvergate. The company that once proposed a global digital currency backed by a basket of fiat reserves now settles for routing USDC through Stripe's infrastructure on Polygon and Solana. The regulatory environment that destroyed Libra has shifted considerably since 2022, largely due to the GENIUS Act signed into law in July 2025. This article traces Meta's journey from the Libra white paper to its current stablecoin strategy and examines what changed to make a second attempt viable.

How Libra Died and Diem Failed to Survive

Facebook announced Libra in June 2019 as a global stablecoin backed by a basket of currencies, with founding members including Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. Within months, congressional hearings and regulatory pressure from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve forced those payment giants to withdraw their support. The project rebranded to Diem in December 2020, narrowing its scope to a single-currency USD stablecoin issued through a Swiss association. David Marcus, co-creator and former head of Meta's blockchain division, later revealed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that allowing Diem would be "political suicide," according to Brave New Coin. The Fed subsequently pressured participating banks to withdraw support, and U.S. senators sent an open letter in October 2021 demanding that Meta cease its Novi wallet pilot program.Marcus described the outcome bluntly, stating that "America, this country I immigrated to and became a proud citizen of because of its rule of law and value system, behaved in such a way for political reasons." The Diem Association sold its assets to Silvergate in January 2022, and Meta shuttered the Novi wallet by September of that year.

The Stripe Partnership and USDC Payouts

Meta's current approach avoids the regulatory landmine of issuing its own currency altogether. Instead, the company routes payouts through Circle's USDC on two established blockchain networks. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta's board in April 2025, and Stripe agreed to acquire Bridge for roughly $1.1 billion in October 2024, building the payment rails Meta now uses.Jay Shah, Stripe's head of Link, confirmed the partnership directly, stating that "businesses can now send stablecoin payouts directly to customers using Link" and that they are "already partnering with Meta so their creators can receive stablecoins in their Link wallets in countries like the Philippines and Colombia." Creators enter a third-party crypto wallet address into Facebook's payout platform and receive USDC that Meta does not convert to local currencies. The target use case is small cross-border transfers around $100, where traditional wire fees and foreign exchange spreads consume a disproportionate share of the payout. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said, "The future of marketplace payouts is being built on blockchain infrastructure like Polygon," while Solana Foundation head of product Catherine Gu called Solana "the default place for internet-scale payments."

What Changed in the Regulatory Landscape

The single largest difference between 2022 and 2026 is the GENIUS Act, signed into law by President Trump in July 2025. The legislation established the first federal framework for stablecoin issuance in the United States, requiring reserve backing, regular audits, and compliance with anti-money laundering rules. Bridge, the Stripe subsidiary handling Meta's crypto payment rails, received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter in February 2026.Meta is not issuing a stablecoin under this framework; it is using one that Circle already issues. That distinction matters because Meta avoids the issuer-level regulatory scrutiny that sank Libra while still embedding stablecoin payments across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Stripe's 2025 annual letter captured the broader shift, noting that "stablecoin payments are advancing quietly and inexorably as real-world uptake continues apace."The expansion plan is aggressive by any measure. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the program could expand to more than 160 countries by the end of 2026. Meta currently hosts more than three billion monthly active users across its platforms.

Why the Scale of Meta's User Base Changes the Equation

Stablecoin adoption has grown steadily through exchange trading and DeFi protocols, but consumer-facing deployment at Meta's scale introduces a fundamentally different volume dynamic. A Meta spokesperson told Fortune that the company "strives to offer the most relevant payment methods" and is "exploring how stablecoins could become part of our suite of options." The careful language reflects lessons learned from the Libra backlash, when senators publicly opposed Meta's ambitions before the product launched. Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal pushed back against Meta's renewed stablecoin plans in a June 2025 letter to Zuckerberg, citing Meta's history of privacy violations and failures to protect users. The political scrutiny has not stopped the rollout, but it explains why Meta chose to partner with regulated intermediaries rather than build proprietary payment rails again.The commercial logic is straightforward, and if even a small fraction of Meta's creator base opts into stablecoin payouts, the transaction volume would exceed what most dedicated crypto payment platforms process today. That possibility is what makes Meta's second attempt worth watching, even if the company itself is careful never to call it a crypto product.

Regulatory Implications

The GENIUS Act requires payment stablecoin issuers to maintain a one-to-one reserve backing in cash or cash equivalents and submit to regular federal audits. Because Meta uses Circle's USDC rather than issuing its own token, it operates as a payment integrator rather than a regulated issuer. That classification could change if Meta processes enough volume to attract additional scrutiny from the OCC or state regulators.

What's Next?

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the program could expand to more than 160 countries by the end of 2026. Meta is expected to extend stablecoin payouts across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in the second half of 2026, according to a Crypto.news report.The next regulatory milestone is the CLARITY Act, which would define when a digital asset qualifies as a security; it fell well short of the 60 votes needed on 15 September, and there is no scheduled re-vote. Senator Thom Tillis switched to no to preserve a motion to reconsider.

FAQs

What stablecoin does Meta use for creator payouts? Meta uses Circle's USDC stablecoin on the Polygon and Solana blockchains, routed through Stripe's payment infrastructure and Link wallet system for cross-border creator payouts. Why did Meta's original Libra project fail? U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve officials pressured banks and payment partners to withdraw support, and senators demanded that Meta cease its Novi wallet pilot, effectively ending the project. When did Meta start paying creators in stablecoins? Meta launched USDC stablecoin payouts for creators in Colombia and the Philippines in April 2026, using Stripe's Bridge platform to process cross-border payments on blockchain networks. What is the GENIUS Act, and how does it affect Meta? The GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, established the first U.S. federal stablecoin framework requiring reserve backing and audits, enabling Meta's compliant integration of third-party stablecoins. Is Meta issuing its own cryptocurrency? Meta is not issuing its own cryptocurrency or stablecoin this time around; it is integrating Circle's existing USDC token through Stripe's regulated payment infrastructure across its platforms. How many countries will Meta support for stablecoin payouts? Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the program could expand to more than 160 countries by the end of 2026, starting from the initial pilot in Colombia and the Philippines. What role does Stripe play in Meta's stablecoin strategy? Stripe provides the payment infrastructure through its Bridge platform and Link wallet, processing USDC transactions and handling crypto-specific tax reporting for Meta's global creator payout program.

References

Source: FinanceFeeds