Meta Plans Stablecoin Payments Relaunch Through Third-Party Partnerships in Second Half

Meta abandoned its Libra/Diem project under regulatory pressure but is now reassessing the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments. Under the new strategy, Meta would not issue its own currency. Instead, it would use U.S. dollar stablecoins as the settlement layer for Meta AI commerce, allowing digital agents to execute transactions and payments automatically worldwide.

Meta reportedly plans to return to the stablecoin market in the second half of 2026 and is seeking outside payment providers, including Stripe, to help manage the initiative and launch U.S. dollar-pegged digital tokens. The partners, investment amount and launch date have yet to be formally announced. The core objective is to support automated transactions by AI agents and cross-border settlement.

Meta unveiled the Libra project in 2019 and later renamed it Diem, but sold its assets in 2022 after U.S. and European regulators raised concerns about financial stability, anti-money laundering controls and data privacy. Its return to stablecoins signals another attempt to bring crypto payments into the ecosystem of its social platforms.

Meta plans to relaunch stablecoin payments and introduce a new digital wallet in the second half of 2026. Unlike its earlier attempt to control the currency system itself, the company intends to have third-party providers such as Stripe manage the payment infrastructure. It has not formally announced its partners, the stablecoins it will support, the amount it will invest or an exact launch date.