Meta Tests USDC Stablecoin Payouts for Creators

 

Social media giant Meta is currently running a pilot program that tests issuing creators’ payouts in stablecoins. “Meta now offers USDC stablecoin payouts via supported crypto wallets on the Solana and Polygon blockchain networks,” the team wrote on its Business Help Center page

 

Since this is still a pilot program, only creators in Colombia and the Philippines are currently eligible for the service, with the program expected to expand to more than 160 countries before the end of the year, according to an X post by Polygon Labs.

 

 

While the announcement was well received by many in the crypto community, a spokesperson for Meta clarified the goal of the initiative, stating that Meta was not issuing its own stablecoin but was instead tapping into Circle’s $77 billion USDC stablecoin, with plans to integrate the stablecoin into its payment infrastructure.

 

The Meta USDC creator payout program is currently supported by several popular crypto wallets, including MetaMask, Phantom, and Binance, with global payments platform Stripe handling the technical infrastructure and serving as the payments provider. Solana and Polygon are the only blockchain networks currently supported for this program.

 

Meta Pushes Again Into Crypto After Setbacks

Meta’s recent move into crypto follows several setbacks it has had to deal with in the past. In 2019, it launched Libra, a cryptocurrency which it said could be used across its different social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

 

However, things did not go as planned, as some stakeholders, such as PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa, which were involved in the project, started pulling out due to scrutiny and backlash from U.S. regulators and from some members of the U.S. Congress.

 

Although Meta made several efforts to save the project, including rebranding it from Libra to Diem, a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar in an effort to appease federal regulators, nothing worked, as federal regulators stated that the project could not move forward.

 

Other projects associated with Libra and Diem, such as the Novi wallet, a cryptocurrency wallet built by Meta that allowed users to hold and transfer Libra, also failed, and the entire project was eventually wound down. According to Stuart Levey, then CEO of the Diem Association, “it became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead.”