In brief
- Warren and Blumenthal have sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg demanding details on Meta’s stablecoin efforts.
- The senators warn Meta could misuse financial data and consolidate economic power.
- The inquiry follows reports Meta is in talks with crypto firms to integrate stablecoin payments across its platforms.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) fired off a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, demanding answers about the tech giant’s renewed pursuit of stablecoin payments.
“Big Tech companies’ issuing or controlling their own private currencies, like a stablecoin, would threaten competition across the economy, erode financial privacy, and cede control of the U.S. money supply to monopolistic platforms that have a history of abusing their power,” the senators wrote in their letter.
With Meta’s 3.5 billion daily users, Warren and Blumenthal warned the company could consolidate significant economic power and undermine competition.
The Democratic senators’ probe follows a Fortune report that Meta is in discussions with crypto companies about integrating stablecoins into its platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
Meta’s exploration of stablecoins marks a comeback attempt following the failure of its Libra project in 2019.
The initiative, later renamed Diem, collapsed under intense regulatory scrutiny and bipartisan political opposition before ultimately selling off its assets in 2022.
Unchecked power
The senators’ letter draws connections between Meta’s past failures and current risks, noting the company’s “troubling record” of operations.
The letter warned that if Meta controlled its own stablecoin, “the company could further pry into consumers’ transactions and commercial activity.”
Stablecoins are crypto pegged to the value of traditional assets like the U.S. dollar, designed to offer price stability, and are commonly used for payments and transfers.
The senators stated that Meta could utilize the vast amounts of consumer data “to fuel surveillance pricing schemes on its platform, more intrusive targeted advertising, or otherwise help the company monetize sensitive private information through sales to third-party data brokers.”
They have given Zuckerberg until June 17 to respond to eight detailed questions about Meta’s stablecoin plans, including which companies the tech giant has consulted and whether it’s considering launching its own token.
The senators also want to know if Meta has lobbied on crypto legislation and whether it would oppose amendments prohibiting “Big Tech” companies from controlling stablecoin issuers.
The investigation comes at a critical juncture as the Senate voted 68-30 on Wednesday to advance the GENIUS Act, a legislation “that would explicitly allow Big Tech companies like Meta to issue their own stablecoins,” according to the letter.
“By passing the GENIUS Act, the Senate is not only about to bless this corruption, but to actively facilitate its expansion,” Warren said on the Senate floor, referring to President Donald Trump’s ties to his family-backed crypto platform World Liberty Financial.
Decrypt has contacted Meta for comment. Previously, communications director Andy Stone wrote on X in May that there was “no Meta stablecoin” in development.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.