Meta Launches USDC Creator Payouts on Solana and Polygon, Four Years After Killing Libra

Meta has quietly begun paying select creators in Colombia and the Philippines in USDC on Solana and Polygon, with Stripe on the backend and plans to expand to 160 countries by year-end.

Meta has begun offering select creators the option to receive earnings in USDC stablecoin on the Solana or Polygon blockchains, the company confirmed Wednesday through an update to its website. The rollout is currently limited to creators in Colombia and the Philippines and represents the social media giant’s most concrete step into crypto payments since it shut down the Diem project in early 2022. Stripe is serving as the payments partner, handling backend infrastructure and crypto-specific tax reporting for participating creators.

The mechanics are straightforward. Creators who opt in must connect a compatible third-party wallet, including MetaMask, Phantom, or Binance, to their Facebook payout account. Meta does not offer a conversion service for USDC into local currency, meaning creators who want to cash out will need to transfer funds to an exchange and handle the conversion themselves. The program is also not backed by a proprietary Meta stablecoin. The company is using Circle’s USDC and leaning entirely on external blockchain infrastructure rather than building its own. Stripe CEO Jay Shah confirmed the partnership, noting that creators can receive USDC directly into Stripe’s Link wallet product in supported markets.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The launch closes a loop that began in early 2026. As Unchained reported in February, Meta had issued a request for proposals to third-party providers to administer stablecoin payments, with Stripe emerging as the leading candidate. The company had been moving cautiously back into the space amid a shifted regulatory backdrop. The GENIUS Act, passed in 2025, established a federal framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, clearing room for major technology companies to make definitive moves. Shopify has since enabled USDC payments for merchants, and Western Union has announced plans for a Solana-based stablecoin. Apple, Airbnb, Google, and X have all explored stablecoin integrations under the Trump administration’s more permissive stance toward digital assets.

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the program is expected to expand to more than 160 countries by the end of the year. Solana Foundation head of product Catherine Gu said Solana has emerged as the default infrastructure for internet-scale payments. The scale of potential distribution is significant: Meta’s platforms reach over 3 billion users, the vast majority of whom remain in markets where cross-border payment costs are high and banking access is limited. If the rollout proceeds as planned, Meta could become one of the largest individual distribution channels for USDC globally, potentially accelerating mainstream stablecoin adoption more than any product announcement from within the crypto industry.