Plasma is a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for stablecoins, launched in September 2025 with a market value exceeding $2.4 billion for its native token XPL. The project is a true revolution in the world of stablecoins, offering advanced infrastructure focusing on free USDT transfers and high speed. $XPL

Key Technical Features

Plasma uses an advanced consensus mechanism called PlasmaBFT based on the Fast HotStuff algorithm, achieving transaction confirmations in less than one second. The blockchain is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy existing smart contracts without modification.

The project features:

  • USDT transfers with no fees for simple transactions

  • A secure Bitcoin bridge connecting the network to the largest blockchain in the world

  • Custom fees that can be paid in USDT or BTC instead of XPL

  • Confidential transactions to protect privacy while maintaining compliance

Key investors and institutional support

Funding and investments

The Plasma project raised a total of 74 million dollars across several investment rounds:

Round one (4 million dollars):

  • Bitfinex (the sister platform of Tether)

  • Paolo Ardoino (CEO of both Tether and Bitfinex)

  • Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal and founder of Founders Fund)

Round two (24 million dollars):

  • Framework Ventures (the leader)

  • Bitfinex (major partner)

  • Founders Fund (Peter Thiel's fund)

  • Flow Traders, DRW, IMC, Nomura

Public sale (50 million dollars):

  • The public sale via the Echo platform experienced heavy demand exceeding the available supply

The relationship with Tether and USDT

The strategic importance of Plasma lies in its direct support from the founders of USDT:

  • Paolo Ardoino is an angel investor and advisor to the project

  • Bitfinex is a strategic partner and major investor

  • The project carries Tether's vision to expand USDT's dominance through better infrastructure

  • Plasma supports USDT0 (the cross-network version of USDT) from day one

Will Plasma be an important blockchain?

Factors supporting future importance

The massive market for stablecoins:

  • The current market value of stablecoins exceeds 220 billion dollars

  • USDT controls 62% of the market with a daily transaction volume exceeding 15 billion dollars

  • Expectations indicate market growth to 3 trillion dollars by 2030

Strong institutional support:

  • Strategic partnership agreements with over 100 DeFi protocols

  • 2 billion dollars in liquidity available at launch

  • Direct support from the largest stablecoin issuer in the world (Tether)

Competitive advantages:

  • The only blockchain designed specifically for stablecoins

  • Free transfers make it attractive for daily use

  • Security derived from Bitcoin with the speed of Ethereum

Potential challenges

  • Intense competition from Ethereum and Solana in the stablecoin space

  • Heavy reliance on USDT and Tether policies

  • Government regulation may impact stablecoins

#Plasma