Meta stablecoin deployment reignited! Lawmakers send letter to Zuckerberg, questioning money laundering and competition risks

Meta’s development team has introduced stablecoin payment functionality on its in-house platform, prompting heightened concern from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and leading her to send a letter raising her concerns. The plan is expected to launch as early as 2026 at the fastest, with the goal of building cross-border payment infrastructure.

Meta Lays Further Plans for Stablecoins, as U.S. Regulatory Scrutiny Escalates

Meta is once again moving into the stablecoin payments market, drawing significant attention from the U.S. Congress. U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has recently formally written to Mark Zuckerberg, asking Meta to explain the details of its latest stablecoin plan and questioning whether the company could pose risks to financial stability, anti-money laundering, and market competition.

Meta is currently studying the reintroduction of stablecoin payment features on its platforms, potentially rolling them out as early as 2026. The related plan is still in the stages of testing and partnership evaluation, but it is widely believed that Meta wants to rebuild cross-border payment and digital commerce infrastructure and integrate stablecoins into ecosystems such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. This has also led outsiders to recall the Libra and Diem projects that Meta previously pushed forward. At the time, the project was ultimately forced to be discontinued after facing strong opposition from regulators worldwide.

Warren Specifically Calls Out Money Laundering, Monopoly, and Data Issues

In her open letter, Warren asks Meta to clarify whether its stablecoin product involves its own token, collaboration with third-party stablecoins, cross-border payment services, and related anti-money laundering and KYC measures. She also questions whether, if Meta re-takes control of payment infrastructure, it could further strengthen its market monopoly position in the social media, advertising, and e-commerce industries.

Image source: U.S. Senate — Warren asks Meta to clarify whether its stablecoin product involves its own token, collaboration with third-party stablecoins, cross-border payment services, and related anti-money laundering and KYC measures

Warren also noted that Meta has repeatedly faced controversy in the past over user privacy and data protection. Now, if it combines payments with financial data, it could create greater regulatory risk. She is also concerned that Meta’s stablecoin product could be used by criminals for money laundering, evading sanctions, or transferring illegal funds. Because Meta has more than 3 billion users worldwide, once stablecoin payments officially go live, the scale of impact could be far greater than that of most current cryptocurrency platforms.

In addition to urging Meta to provide detailed information, Warren also calls on Congress, as it advances the CLARITY Act and stablecoin regulatory bills, to impose clearer restrictions on large tech companies entering the financial services sector. She believes technology giants should not simultaneously control social platforms, commercial traffic, and payment systems.

Why Meta Is Betting Again on the Stablecoin Market

Market analysis suggests that Meta’s renewed move back into stablecoins reflects the fact that the global payments market is rapidly entering an on-chain phase. As companies such as Visa, Stripe, PayPal, and Coinbase actively develop stablecoin settlement and on-chain payments, Meta clearly does not want to miss out on the next generation of internet financial infrastructure. Especially for Meta, social platforms themselves already have a large volume of commercial and content traffic.

If, in the future, stablecoin payments, the creator economy, advertising revenue sharing, and AI Agent business systems can be integrated directly, it could help establish a new digital economic closed loop. The market even expects that Meta may bundle stablecoin payments with AI assistants, virtual goods, metaverse assets, and even cross-border creator income.

That said, compared with the Libra period in 2019, the U.S. regulatory environment has changed significantly. Cryptocurrency bills, including the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act, are seeking to build a more complete stablecoin regulatory framework. This also means that if Meta wants to re-enter the payments market, it will inevitably have to face stricter scrutiny.

Washington Is Divided in Attitude, and Tech Giants’ “Financialization” Controversy Resurfaces

At present, U.S. political circles still hold highly divided views on large tech companies issuing stablecoins.

• Some Republican lawmakers believe that as long as regulatory requirements are met, tech companies should be allowed to participate in financial innovation and compete in the payments market;
• Democrats worry that tech giants controlling too much financial and data power could further weaken banking systems and consumer protections.

Warren’s renewed public pressure is also seen as an important political signal ahead of the CLARITY Act entering its critical review phase. Market participants point out that the true significance of Meta’s stablecoin plans is no longer just testing a single product, but whether large tech platforms can officially enter the global financial infrastructure industry. Once Meta successfully establishes a stablecoin payments network, future competition with banks, credit card companies, and even some national payment systems is likely to become even more direct.