Meta is preparing to integrate stablecoin-based payments into its platforms. According to CoinDesk, the company has sent a request for proposal (RFP) to third-party providers to handle the technical processing. Three anonymous sources confirmed the plans independently.
The planned launch falls in the second half of 2026. Stripe is considered the most likely partner for the pilot operation. Alongside the stablecoin integration, Meta is developing a new wallet. All three parties involved -- Meta, Stripe, and Bridge -- declined to comment officially.
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From the Libra debacle to an arms-length strategy
The contrast to the last attempt could hardly be greater. When Facebook announced the Libra project in 2019, the company intended to act as a stablecoin issuer itself. Its own association in Geneva, reserves in multiple currencies, and a global ambition provoked massive resistance. Central banks and regulators pushed back aggressively. ECB President Christine Lagarde warned that such stablecoins threatened the competitiveness and technological autonomy of the EU.
Partners like PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard subsequently withdrew. After a rebranding to Diem in December 2020, the association sold its assets in January 2022 to Silvergate Bank for $182 million. Yet the project had still failed. During the wind-down, Diem CEO Stuart Levey stated that a senior regulator had called Diem the best-designed stablecoin project the US government had ever seen.
Four years later, Meta is pursuing a fundamentally different strategy. Rather than issuing stablecoins itself, the company is outsourcing the entire payments infrastructure to regulated third-party providers.
Stripe and Bridge as infrastructure backbone
Stripe acquired stablecoin fintech Bridge in 2024 for $1.1 billion, making it the largest acquisition in Stripe's corporate history. The deal closed in February 2025. On February 17, 2026, Bridge received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This allows the company to establish a national trust bank. Bridge had filed the application in October 2025. Under the OCC approval, the company may issue stablecoins, custody digital assets, and manage reserves under direct federal oversight.
Bridge is already operationally active in the stablecoin business. Through Stripe's Open Issuance platform, the company operates stablecoin issuance for products like Phantom's CASH and MetaMask's mUSD. A personnel connection further strengthens the Stripe-Meta thesis. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta's Board of Directors in April 2025. At the time, Collison described Meta as one of the most important internet platforms for businesses worldwide.
GENIUS Act as regulatory foundation
The regulatory environment has changed fundamentally since Libra's failure. President Trump signed the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act) on July 18, 2025. This law created the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers in the US.
The Senate passed the bill with a 68-to-30 vote, and the House of Representatives followed with 308 to 122. Both votes showed broad bipartisan support. Specifically, issuers must hold reserves at a 1:1 ratio to outstanding stablecoin volume. Eligible reserves include US dollars, deposits at regulated depository banks, short-term US Treasuries, and money market funds. Payment stablecoins are classified as neither securities nor commodities under the GENIUS Act. They therefore do not fall under SEC or CFTC oversight.
For Meta's plans, this provides the legal certainty that was missing in 2019. Bridge's OCC approval fits seamlessly into this framework. Still, the GENIUS Act does not take full effect until 18 months after signing, or 120 days after publication of final regulations. Altogether, this potentially means not until early 2027.
Super-app race for crypto payments
Meta is not alone with its stablecoin plans. A competition for integrated crypto payments among the major platforms is taking shape.
Telegram has already launched TON Pay, an SDK for crypto payments that supports Toncoin and Tether's USDT. Its platform targets transactions for more than 1.1 billion monthly active users. At the same time, Telegram is moving toward a super-app model. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's X Money is in closed beta testing. External tests are expected to follow in the coming months. Whether X Money will support crypto payments remains unclear.
Meta has the largest user pool. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp together reach over 3 billion users. Stablecoin payments could bypass traditional banking fees and unlock new use cases in social commerce and cross-border remittances.
A market in the trillions
The stablecoin market has reached a different dimension since the Libra debacle. Total capitalization stood at around $318 billion in early 2026. Tether (USDT) dominates with $187 billion and a 61 percent market share. USDC follows with $70.6 billion and roughly 25 percent.
Transaction volume is growing rapidly as well. In 2025, stablecoins processed transactions worth $33 trillion. That represents a 72 percent increase over the previous year. Already in 2024, stablecoins moved $15.6 trillion, a volume on par with Visa. Together, USDT and USDC control 93 percent of market capitalization.
Whether Meta plans to issue its own stablecoin through Bridge or integrate existing coins like USDT and USDC remains open. The geographic scope of the pilot is equally unclear. Yet Meta's decision to fully outsource issuance and custody to regulated partners significantly reduces regulatory risk. That exact risk is what buried Diem.
