Meta’s cryptocurrency project Diem is withinside the ground and its intellectual property has been sold. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not pretty carried out with blockchain-based payments just yet.
In its 10,000 annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta highlighted that future initiatives like Novi’s digital wallet could use “blockchain-based assets” like the USDP stablecoin, which is issued by Paxos Trust Company.
In addition, the company said that its future initiative is to “Support commerce in Metavers”, which can use assets in digital payments block-based assets.
"The use of blockchain-based assets in payments is a relatively new and unproven technology, and the laws & regulations surrounding it are uncertain and evolving," Excerpted from Meta's SEC filing
Meta knows it’s going to be a bumpy ride
When Diem died, many wondered what digital payment mechanisms Meta would use for its future virtual platforms. In October, while changing the brand from Facebook to Meta, Zuckerberg said the company would be pumping in significant resources into Oculus and future Metaverse platforms. He also featured meeting rooms, games and more designed for these virtual spaces.
In its SEC filing, Meta noted that the company expects governments and regulators to scrutinize its future digital payment systems. This, along with the way the market is accepting these new payment systems, means that Meta is unsure about its future payment systems will be launched in time, or whether they will be launched at all.
The company said it is “participating in responses” to government inquiries related to its digital payments and said adverse action by regulators and governments could “harm” its business.
Government acceptance is a key
The SEC filing, which comes days after Meta reported lackluster fourth-quarter 2021 results, also re-iterated some of the concerns Zuckerberg expressed during the company’s earnings call earlier this month.
Meta explained that the growth of Facebook users in countries like India has been limited by the rise in data prices of prepaid mobile plans. However, there has also been a drop in daily active users in the US.
Overall, Zuckerberg pointed the finger at Apple’s new app tracking transparency rules for the dip. Because the new rules prevent companies from tracking user activity online, he said, it affected Facebook’s ability to target online ads.
In his October speech, Zuckerberg had indirectly said that one of the reasons Meta focused on the Metaverse was to get out of the rules of the companies like Apple. “The Metaverse is not created by a single company. It is made by creators and developers creating new experiences & digital items that are interoperable and unlock a far larger creative economy than is constrained by current platforms and their policies,” he said in a letter at the time.
This means, Diem or not, digital payments in the Metaverse will be an integral part of future Meta products. The company has also been exploring non-fungible tokens (NFTs) via platforms like Instagram, giving it even more responsibility to integrate blockchain-based payments into its future products.
