Meta back in stablecoin talks three years after phasing out landmark crypto project

Meta seems to have caught the stablecoin bug and is reportedly testing crypto waters again. 

According to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed the company has been engaging crypto firms with plans to introduce stablecoins as a means to manage payouts. It has even allegedly hired a vice president of product with crypto experience to help steer the negotiations.

Meta’s renewed interest in stablecoins due to growing popularity and adoption

Meta’s recent interest in stablecoins comes as the tokens have become a globally relevant topic.

From the recent $1.1 billion acquisition of the stablecoin startup Bridge by Stripe, to the financial firm Fidelity revealing it is developing its own stablecoin, the traditional world of finance has woken up to the use case of stablecoins, especially as a form of cross-border payments.

The news about Meta’s interest in stablecoins comes months after the company hired Ginger Baker, who specializes in fintech and payments, as VP of product.

Baker is well known in the fintech and crypto space, having previously worked as an executive at the fintech company Plaid and still serving on the board of the Stellar Development Foundation.

One source revealed that she is helping Meta to navigate its stablecoin explorations thanks to her experience. As far as those explorations go, three sources have confirmed that  Meta contacted crypto infrastructure companies earlier this year.

They claim the talks are reportedly still at the preliminary stage and they focus on the ability of stablecoins to reach individuals across different regions without the high fees associated with other forms of payments, such as wire transfers.

For now, the tech firm is described as being in “learn mode,” but if it decides to make payments via stablecoins, some think it would use a variety of stablecoins rather than choosing one provider, such as Circle’s USDC.

It is not Meta’s first time dabbling in stablecoins

Meta’s renewed interest in stablecoins has drawn a lot of attention because of its history. In 2019, Meta revealed a blockchain initiative that became known as Libra, a proposed consortium of companies that included Uber and PayPal that would have launched a stablecoin backed by a variety of fiat currencies.

Meta renamed the project Diem in 2020 but had to abandon it in early 2022 because lawmakers and regulators in both the United States and Europe were worried about how such an offering by a company of Facebook’s scale would impact the financial system and the control central banks assert over money. 

The Diem group did not just roll over and let it die. Indeed, they went above and beyond, assembling a small army of lobbyists, rebranding the project, downplaying Facebook’s involvement, and paring down their ambitions for a single digital currency. 

However, despite their efforts, they failed to change any minds. That became obvious after David Marcus, Meta’s point person on the project, departed the project, followed by other key figures involved.

Diem Association CEO Stuart Levey later revealed in a statement that even though they actively sought feedback from governments and regulators around the world, and received positive substantive feedback on the design of the network, it had become clear from dialogues with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead.

As a result, Meta sold Diem’s assets to the crypto-friendly bank Silvergate for around $182-$200 million in 2022, effectively drawing the curtains on the project.

On Tuesday, Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, appeared at a Stripe conference, where he acknowledged Diem’s failure in an on-stage discussion with Stripe cofounder John Collison.

“That thing’s dead,” Zuckerberg reportedly said and when he was asked about Meta’s tendency to be early to tech trends, Zuckerberg said it’s “certainly more fun when you’re early than when you’re late.” Then he added, “There’s plenty of things that [we’re] late to and have to claw our way back into the game, which I think we’re pretty good at that, too.”

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