Meta's Stablecoin Push Could Drive ₱57.54 trillion ($1 Trillion) Treasury Shift
Meta will integrate dollar-pegged stablecoins through a third-party provider by mid-2026, bypassing the regulatory backlash that killed Libra. Standard Chartered projects this could generate ₱46.03 trillion ($800 billion) to ₱57.54 trillion ($1 trillion) in incremental Treasury bill demand as the stablecoin market grows to ₱115.08 trillion ($2 trillion) by end-2028.
Key Takeaway
Meta's 3.58 billion users could turn stablecoins into a Treasury, Washington might not be ready.
Meta will integrate stablecoin-based payments through a third-party provider by the second half of 2026, according to Coindesk reporting on February 24. This approach differs sharply from the company's first attempt: instead of creating a new token, Meta will use existing dollar-pegged stablecoins via third-party rails.
The shift matters for US debt markets. Stablecoin issuers typically hold short-dated US government debt as reserves, and Tether alone owned $141 billion in Treasuries as of December 2025. Standard Chartered projects the stablecoin market will grow from $309 billion today to $2 trillion by end-2028, generating $800 billion to $1 trillion in incremental Treasury bill demand. US Treasury bills outstanding totaled $6.55 trillion at the end of 2025.
Meta's first attempt at stablecoins ended badly. The company announced Libra in June 2019 with backing from Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and eBay. Regulators in the US and EU raised concerns over monetary sovereignty, financial stability, and privacy. By January 2020, Libra pivoted from a multi-currency basket to single-currency stablecoins pegged to the dollar, euro, or pound. The project rebranded to Diem in December 2020 and shut down by January 2022.
The 2026 approach sidesteps the criticism that Libra functioned as a de facto central bank. The US passed the GENIUS Act in 2025, establishing a legal framework for payment stablecoins. Blockworks co-founder Mike Ippolito said people aren't appreciating how big the Meta stablecoin news is, noting that the crypto market grew from $1 billion in 2019 to $170 billion in just three years, and Meta's 3.58 billion Family daily active people as of December 2025 offer distribution scale that could accelerate adoption far beyond current levels.
This article was written based on reporting from CryptoSlate.
