From ‘On-Chain Central Bank’ to Traffic ‘Distributor’: Meta’s Undying Stablecoin Ambition
Meta (formerly Facebook) has never been in the stablecoin game to contribute to Web3.
I. Libra’s ‘Central Bank Dream’: A Global Experiment That Shook Regulators
In 2019, Libra burst onto the scene. Its whitepaper read like an IMF blueprint—Swiss headquarters, pegged to a basket of fiat currencies, backed by a full governance structure and reserve model. It was a tech giant’s audacious attempt to create a ‘digital dollar alternative.’
But the dream collapsed quickly. Just 3 days after the whitepaper release, the chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sounded the alarm, accusing Libra of ‘sovereignty-bypassing’ financial ambitions. Over the next three years, Zuckerberg testified four times; Libra shrank from a multi-currency peg to a single dollar, scrubbed ‘financial inclusion’ from its rhetoric; partner banks hit dead ends until finally linking with Silvergate; and the whitepaper revised from 1.0 to 2.0,妥协ing step by step.
In January 2022, Diem (Libra’s successor) sold its assets for $200 million to Silvergate, marking its death. Libra became a cautionary tale of ‘overreach,’ and U.S. tech firms learned:公开ly discussing stablecoin issuance? Don’t even think about it.
II. A New Script: No More Issuing, Just ‘Distributing’ Traffic
Early 2025 saw a key return—Ginger Baker, appointed Meta’s VP of Payment Products. A compliance veteran with stints at Ripple, Plaid, and Square, she’d led Facebook’s payment system back in 2016, even working on on-chain payment prototypes before Libra went public. Her comeback signaled Meta’s clear intent to re-enter the stablecoin race.
This time, Meta got smarter: no more currency issuance, focus on payment scenarios. Per Fortune, it’s in talks with crypto infrastructure firms to integrate stablecoins (like USDC, USDT) into Facebook and WhatsApp for content creator revenue settlement.
Meta avoids reserves and clearing, only ‘orchestrating payment paths,’ yet牢牢controls three core gateways: who can receive funds, where the money comes from, and how accounts are settled. Simply put, it wants to be a stablecoin ‘traffic distributor.’
III. Regulators Are Back: Control Over Pathways = Systemic Risk?
June this year, two U.S. senators grilled Zuckerberg: Is Meta quietly building a ‘private currency network’ under the guise of partnerships? Their letter hit the nail: even without issuing coins, controlling accounts and clearing pathways still poses systemic risks.
It’s understandable. Diem once aimed to profit from ‘seigniorage’ and cross-border clearing fees, but the GENIUS Act shut that down—it bans big platforms from direct stablecoin issuance, even adding a ‘Libra Clause’ requiring non-bank issuers to form Circle-like independent entities, passing antitrust reviews and Treasury approval.
Now Meta’s pivoted: using USDC as a ready-made dollar settlement module, embedding it into its account system, offloading clearing to third parties, and cashing in on ‘traffic profit-sharing.’ Just as Coinbase leverages its user base to negotiate interest splits with Circle, Meta—with 3 billion users—has the clout to demand channel fees, even using transaction data for ad targeting.
IV. Stablecoins Step Backstage: Platforms Compete for ‘Capital Control’
Meta’s shift isn’t unique. After the GENIUS Act drew lines, the stablecoin landscape changed:
– Issuance belongs to licensed entities: Firms like Circle and Paxos handle reserves and on-chain clearing, subject to bank-level regulation;
– Traffic ports become new battlegrounds: Platforms like Meta, Stripe, and PayPal now hide stablecoins in Web2 workflows, turning them into ‘invisible settlement tools’—users never see ‘Crypto,’ but unknowingly use it to pay.
As stablecoins become as unnoticeable as the TCP/IP protocol, competition shifts from ‘who issues’ to ‘who controls capital flow.’ Meta didn’t get a ‘central bank license,’ but on its turf, it’s quietly building a ‘payment tollbooth.’
Conclusion
Diem’s ‘central bank dream’ died, but Meta’s stablecoin ambition lives on in a new form. Regulators made it clear: ‘Stablecoins can be issued, but not by you.’ But if a platform controls capital flow, accounts, and data—Is it a tool provider, or a new generation of clearinghouse?
Meta’s answering, Stripe and PayPal too. And the answer might lie in your next WhatsApp creator payout.
Read More《从链上央行到流量分销，Meta不灭的稳定币野望》
This content is AI-generated and does not constitute investment advice. Please exercise your own rational judgment.
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