Global Stablecoins and the Race to Convert Yen into Real: Meta, Stripe and the Future of Decentralized Payments

The stablecoin market is undergoing a quiet transformation, and converting yen into real, Swiss francs, or other fiat currencies has become just one example of how tech companies are redesigning the global payments infrastructure. Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains near $71,300, but the main highlight isn’t the prices of traditional cryptocurrencies, but rather the multiplication of stablecoins issued by different players.

The new wave of stablecoins: multiple currencies in circulation

Just this week, significant initiatives in the multi-currency stablecoin space were announced. AllUnity, a joint venture involving German companies DWS, Galaxy, and Flow Trader, launched a token pegged to the Swiss franc (CHFAU). Almost simultaneously, the partnership between SBI Holdings and Startale Group introduced a yen-based version (JPYSC), enabling decentralized conversion of yen into real and other currency exchanges. These launches reflect a clear strategy: making stablecoins an essential infrastructure for international financial flows.

This isn’t happening only in Southeast Asia and Europe. Agant registered with the UK regulator (FCA) to prepare for launching a British pound stablecoin, while Hong Kong began issuing licenses to stablecoin issuers starting in March. Each move signals that stablecoins are shifting from speculative bets to becoming a fundamental component of global payment infrastructure.

Meta, Stripe, and the decentralized payments strategy

In this context, Meta — led by Mark Zuckerberg — is returning to the stablecoin business. The social media giant plans to implement stablecoin-based payment capabilities in the second half of 2026. Meta’s previous attempt with Libra (later renamed Diem) failed in 2019 due to regulatory and legislative pressure, but the company’s proposed return follows a fundamentally different strategy.

According to Christian Catalini, co-creator of Libra, now a professor at MIT and founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, the difference lies in invisibility. “Stablecoins are now becoming less visible and more commoditized, offered by multiple providers and gradually integrating into the payment infrastructure,” Catalini explained to CoinDesk. Major players like Google and Apple also want to participate in this infrastructure but using multiple providers, not a single proprietary platform.

Meta has a strategic partner for this venture: Stripe, a leader in online payments. Patrick Collison, Stripe’s CEO, joined Meta’s board a year ago and is a potential provider for the stablecoin project. Stripe has already shown ambition in the sector by acquiring Bridge (a stablecoin specialist) for $1.1 billion and developing its own blockchain, called Tempo. However, Catalini questions whether other major financial service providers would adopt Stripe’s proprietary blockchain.

Distribution is the new gold: why the model is changing

According to experts, the real competitive advantage in stablecoins has shifted from issuance to distribution. Those with billions of end users — like Meta, which controls Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, totaling approximately 3.6 billion users — have the power to convert yen into real, dollar into euro, or any other currency exchange frictionlessly for their users.

This shift represents a significant departure from the previous model, where value was captured through circulating stablecoins in digital wallets or via the so-called “stablecoin sandwich” — the sequence of converting fiat currency to crypto and back to fiat. Now, the focus is on the relationship with the end user.

Recently, some market signals reinforce this thesis. Companies have begun to abandon acquisitions of stablecoin orchestrators, suggesting that the added value of infrastructure control is diminishing. Paradoxically, this benefits traditional players like card networks (Visa and Mastercard), fintechs, neobanks, and some digital wallets — all with an advantage due to their proximity to the end user.

Commoditization as an inevitability

“If these networks can keep their infrastructure and assets widely available as commodities, they can defend their business against stablecoin disruption,” Catalini pointed out. The commoditization of stablecoins is seen as inevitable: multiple stable currencies will flourish, banks will want their own versions, and competition will shift to who offers the best infrastructure and distribution.

Andy Stone, Meta’s vice president of communications, confirmed this view, stating that returning to stablecoin payments was “simply enabling people and businesses to transact on our platforms using their preferred method.” It’s not about dominating the stablecoin market but about integrating payment infrastructure as a basic service.

The real debate now centers on the ability of different players to build truly open and neutral systems. “It would be hard to imagine another major payment provider building on Stripe’s Tempo blockchain,” Catalini questioned. “This returns to the fundamental challenge of creating truly open and neutral networks — the core of cryptographic philosophy. But in practice, most prefer to build on established blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Solana.”

The future: multiple currencies, converging infrastructure

The consolidation around multi-currency stablecoins, where companies facilitate real-time conversions of yen to real, dollar to yuan, and other exchanges, marks a fundamental transition in how the world conducts financial transactions. The market has matured from betting on a “global brand stablecoin” to a model where multiple stable currencies compete on shared infrastructure.

Meta, Stripe, Google, Apple, and other tech giants are not competing for dominance of specific stablecoins — they are competing for control of the point of contact with the end user. In this new paradigm, converting yen into real or any other transaction ceases to be a friction point and becomes an invisible, omnipresent service.