Meta’s USDC pilot shows how stablecoins could capture billions in creator payouts

A notable development has hit the crypto markets. Libra launched in 2019, rebranded to Diem, and sold its blockchain assets to Silvergate Bank in 2022, three years of work that ended when regulators pushed back, and bank partners withdrew. 29, Meta announced USDC payouts to eligible creators through compatible crypto wallets on Solana and Polygon, starting with selected creators in Colombia and the Philippines. Meta is plugging creator payouts into dollar-stable rails that Stripe, Circle , and others have spent years building.

The current rollout asks eligible creators to connect a compatible wallet and receive USDC directly from Meta's creator payout system. Goldman Sachs pegged the creator economy at roughly $250 billion in 2023 and projected it could reach $480 billion by 2027, spanning roughly 50 million creators whose income flows from brand deals, platform ad revenue shares, subscriptions, tips, and direct payments. Goldman found that brand deals account for about 70% of creators' revenue, meaning most creator income flows through business-to-creator payment pipelines.

Market Dynamics

A 10% slice of a $250 billion creator economy represents $25 billion annually, roughly $2. 1 billion per month, flowing over stablecoin rails. By 2027, 10% of Goldman's projected $480 billion market puts that figure at $48 billion annually, or $4 billion per month.

These TAM scenarios are pegged to the broader creator economy's total payment flow and calibrate the scale of what this pilot could open up at modest penetration rates. Meta launched USDC payouts for selected creators in Colombia and the Philippines on Apr. 29, four years after selling its Libra/Diem blockchain assets to Silvergate.

According to a BIS report, payment-related stablecoin flows in 2025 reached roughly $390 billion . The amount is distinct from the $35 trillion in total on-chain stablecoin volumes, most of which are for trading and settlement. A $25 billion to $48 billion annual creator economy flow would equal between 6.

Market Impact

3% of all current real economy stablecoin payments , large enough to visibly move the real-payments share of stablecoin activity if adoption materializes. Why the infrastructure is ready The Libra window closed partly because stablecoin infrastructure did not exist at scale. Stripe now explicitly markets stablecoin payouts as practical for creators, freelancers, and remote teams, offering USDC on networks including Solana and Polygon , the same chains Meta chose, with KYC/AML onboarding and reach into more than 60 countries.

Stripe says stablecoin cross-border payments settle in minutes. Businesses in 101 countries previously unsupported by Stripe Treasury can now hold dollar-denominated balances and move money across stablecoin rails. A platform that runs USDC payouts can reach a creator in Manila or Bogotá faster and with less friction than a traditional wire transfer, while settling the transaction in dollars.

The choice of Colombia and the Philippines traces to that logic, since both markets combine meaningful creator economies with real-world friction in cross-border payouts and demonstrated appetite for dollar-denominated savings. Because roughly 98% of stablecoins are dollar-denominated, any meaningful expansion of creator payouts over these rails would effectively move more internet income onto dollar infrastructure. This is digital dollarization of the internet labor market, settling cross-border creator income in dollars with fewer intermediaries between the payer and the creator.

Crypto markets are watching this development closely as investors weigh its potential impact on prices.