US Senators Seek Details on Meta's Stablecoin Plans as GENIUS Act Stands Close to Approval

US senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have written to Meta seeking details on the company's stablecoin-related plans. The senators have asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to clarify whether the company intends to launch its stablecoin. Given its mammoth global userbase and the impending final vote on the US stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act, the senators aim to understand the full scope of Meta's intentions. The letter to Meta, dated June 11, comes after a Fortune report recently claimed that the company was looking at stablecoins to facilitate cross-border payouts in a cost-effective way.

While Meta itself has neither confirmed nor denied reports around its potential stablecoin plans, the letter from the senators have cited multiple media reports which brought the topic to light.

"Meta's pursuit of a stablecoin project raises serious concerns. The company tried to issue its private currency in 2019 — as part of the so-called Libra stablecoin project — and was met with overwhelming bipartisan and international opposition. If Meta controlled its own stablecoin, the company could further pry into consumers' transactions and commercial activity," the correspondence said.

The senators have expressed concerns about the threats to financial privacy and industry competition of big tech companies making a trend out of issuing their own private currencies.

Here's What the Senators Have Asked Meta to Clarify

In May, Fortune cited five anonymous sources in its report that claimed that Meta had started discussions with stablecoin firms regarding its potential plans. The US Senators have now asked the company to provide a list of stablecoin companies with which it may have consulted since January 1, 2025.

The Facebook parent has been asked to clarify whether it is considering issuing and controlling its own stablecoin, or whether it will form a partnership with an existing stablecoin company. Currently, Circle and Tether are regarded as the top two stablecoin companies globally. Other companies like PayPal and Ripple have also rolled out their stablecoin offerings in recent times.

The senators have further asked the Zuckerberg-led firm to confirm if, in any way, it has lobbied the federal agencies on crypto legislation. Furthermore, if the company has provided any verbal or written feedback on the GENIUS Act, it has also been asked for clarification.

As its final question, the letter has asked if the social networking giant will oppose an amendment to the GENIUS Act that restricts Big Tech firms from owning, managing, or partnering with stablecoin issuers.

The California-based company has up to June 17 to respond to the senators.

Senator Warren's Opposition

Stablecoins are crypto assets whose value is pegged to underlying reserve assets, such as fiat currencies. Since USD-pegged stablecoins uphold a 1:1 value ratio with the U.S. dollar, they can essentially be seen as digital counterparts to traditional currency. Along with Meta, other companies are also considering the use of stablecoins in order to cut down the costs of processing international financial transactions. Last week, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that his company is also looking at stablecoins use cases.

Last month, Senator Warren sat for an interview with CoinDesk, where she said that small businesses could be choked off from the payments systems if Big Tech firms start issuing their versions of the US dollar.

She said that the GENIUS Act must prohibit big tech firms - with access to global userbases -- from realising their own versions of fiat currencies as it would give them access to the financial patterns of international citizens.

"Stablecoins pose money laundering, consumer protection, and national security risks that, if left unchecked and administered by a company with a checkered compliance history, could significantly harm the American public. Meta has a troubling record when it comes to operating its platform," the letter to Meta signed by Warren noted.

At present, the GENIUS Act awaits final approval from the House of Senate in the US. In May, the proposed legislation was approved by the House Financial Services Committee.