Share this article
Facebook in Talks to Build Ecosystem for Planned Stablecoin: WSJ
Facebook is said to be in talks with firms, including Visa and Mastercard, to support and fund its planned fiat-backed cryptocurrency.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:08 a.m. Published May 3, 2019, 8:00 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Social media giant Facebook is said to be in talks with firms, including Visa and Mastercard, to support and fund its planned fiat-backed cryptocurrency.
A Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said that Facebook has been working for over a year now to launch a stablecoin-based payments platform. The effort, internally called “Project Libra,” is aimed at development of a cryptocurrency enabling the firm's billions of users send money to each other, as well as make online purchases.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Along with Visa and Mastercard, Facebook has also reportedly talked with financial services firm First Data Corp. in order to raise about $1 billion in total as collateral for the stablecoin to buffer it against volatility.
The social media giant is also in discussions with e-commerce companies, also to raise funds, and to gain support and acceptance for the planned stablecoin, according to the report. Facebook may also pay users in the digital currency for viewing ads, as well as allow advertisers to accept the token for merchandise and subsequently pay for more ads with it.
There's more, too. Notably, Facebook is said to be aiming to eliminate the swipe and card processing fees, generally around 2–3 percent, paid by merchants on every transaction to banks and payments processors and networks. “If it succeeds, the project threatens the card networks’ dominance over global payments,” the WSJ says.
Last December, reports suggested the social media giant may first focus on the Indian market to let users transfer money via the fiat-pegged cryptocurrency on WhatsApp, the messaging app Facebook acquired in 2014.
Barclays analyst Ross Sandler recently estimated that Facebook’s cryptocurrency project could yield anywhere from $3 billion to $19 billion in additional revenue by 2021.
The firm set up its blockchain division in May 2018, purportedly to explore the technology. Since then, the company has been expanding its blockchain team with new hires. It currently has around 22 open positions related to blockchain, including legal experts, data engineers, marketing managers and more.
Earlier this year, Facebook also hired staffers from Chainspace, a startup specializing in scaling blockchains via a process known as sharding.
Facebook image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
How a 'perpetual’ stock trick could solve Michael Saylor’s $8 billion debt problem
The bitcoin treasury firm is using perpetual preferreds to retire convertibles, offering a potential framework for managing long-dated leverage.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its SATA follow on offering beyond $150 million, pricing the perpetual preferred at $90.
- The structure offers a blueprint for replacing fixed maturity convertibles with perpetual equity capital that removes refinancing risk.
- Strategy has a $3 billion convertible tranche due in June 2028 with a $672.40 conversion price, which could be addressed using a similar preferred equity approach.
Top Stories
