Meta is quietly running a “small and focused” trial that could bring a third-party stablecoin onto its platforms, a move that immediately drew a sharp letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company already started paying select creators in Colombia and the Philippines in USDC, using Solana and Polygon blockchains, and plans a broader stablecoin integration in the second half of 2026. Warren’s letter, sent this week, warns that the effort risks repeating the failures of Meta’s ill-fated Libra project and could exploit a loophole in the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill.
The trial and rollout
Meta confirmed it’s working with an unnamed third-party stablecoin issuer in a limited test. The company began rolling out USDC payouts for creators in Colombia and the Philippines, settling transactions on Solana and Polygon. Those payments are already live, though Meta hasn’t said how many creators are involved or whether the stablecoin integration will eventually expand to its broader payments infrastructure, including MetaPay. The full stablecoin push is slated for the second half of 2026.
Warren’s letter and the Libra shadow
Warren’s letter to Zuckerberg cites Meta’s failed Libra project — announced in 2019 and shut down in 2022 — as a reason for deep skepticism. She warned that the new stablecoin plans could threaten financial stability, competition, privacy, and payments integrity. The senator requested a bundle of details by May 20, including: the nature of the trial, the roadmap for the H2 2026 launch, which third-party stablecoin was selected, any changes to MetaPay’s wallet functions, controls against illicit finance, privacy guardrails, and whether Meta still has no plans to issue its own stablecoin.
This isn’t the first time Warren has grilled Meta on private currency ambitions. She and Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a similar letter in June 2025, asking about renewed efforts in the space. Meta’s response then was clear: no Meta-issued stablecoin existed and there were no plans to issue one. That answer appears to still hold — the current trial uses a third-party stablecoin, not one Meta would create itself.
The regulatory backdrop
Warren also flagged what she called a loophole in the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill, which is currently making its way through Congress. She argued the bill could allow Big Tech firms like Meta to operate with minimal oversight, potentially enabling a private currency system outside traditional banking safeguards. The senator’s scrutiny suggests any stablecoin move by Meta will face intense political headwinds, even if the company sticks to third-party tokens rather than issuing its own.
Deadline for answers
Meta now has until May 20 to respond with the specifics Warren demanded. The company has not publicly commented on the letter or the timeline for its stablecoin plans since the trial news broke. Whether Meta can satisfy a skeptical Congress while quietly building out crypto payments — without repeating the Libra debacle — is the open question hanging over the whole effort.
