@Plasma The project officially launched its mainnet in 2025, led by a group of developers from traditional finance and the blockchain sector, securing $74 million in funding from well-known investment institutions including Framework Ventures and Bitfinex. Its core positioning is as a 'Layer 1 built for the next generation of global payments', emphasizing high throughput, low fees, and EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatibility. This means developers can directly migrate smart contracts from Ethereum to Plasma without modifying the code. This is not uncommon in crypto projects, but Plasma's uniqueness lies in its view of stablecoin transfers as a native operation. When users send USDT, they incur almost no gas fees, directly addressing the pain points during Ethereum mainnet congestion.

Tracing the history of crypto, the name Plasma actually originates from Ethereum's early scaling solution proposed by OmiseGO in 2017, used for processing transactions through sidechains and settling on the main chain. However, today's Plasma project has evolved into an independent Layer 1, drawing from these concepts while incorporating Bitcoin bridging and institutional-grade validator systems. For example, Plasma features a minimum trust Bitcoin bridge that allows it to seamlessly connect with the Bitcoin ecosystem rather than being limited to Ethereum. This is particularly crucial in the current crypto environment, as cross-chain asset flow is becoming a mainstream demand with the rise of Bitcoin ETFs. In contrast, other Layer 1s like Solana focus more on general-purpose computing, while Plasma specializes in stablecoin payments, allowing it to stand out in competition.

EtherFi is a leading Ethereum staking protocol that transferred over $500 million in ETH assets from its vault to the Plasma platform, providing liquidity for lending and yield strategies. This influx of funds directly boosts Plasma's DeFi ecosystem, allowing users to use EtherFi's weETH as collateral for lending on Plasma. Why is this important? In crypto, staking rewards are becoming the new favorite for investors, especially with the Ethereum Restaking narrative (like EigenLayer) generating compound returns from idle ETH. Through this collaboration, Plasma not only gained massive liquidity but also indirectly benefits from Ethereum's staking economy. According to industry data, Ethereum staking assets are expected to exceed $300 billion by 2025, and Plasma's integration is like catching a fast train, helping it transform from a payment chain to a comprehensive financial platform.

Another highlight is the partnership with Ethena Labs. Ethena's USDe is a synthetic dollar stablecoin that offers high yields through delta-neutral strategies. Plasma has supported USDe since its mainnet beta stage, allowing users to pay on-chain and earn yields directly. This collaboration stems from Ethena's need to expand its payment scenarios. In everyday transactions, your USDT is not only stable but also generates automatic yields. This aligns perfectly with the crypto trend of 'yield as a service', exemplified by protocols like Pendle that are breaking fixed income into liquid components. Plasma uses this to embed Ethena's mechanism into its ecosystem, with the goal of attracting more retail users. Data shows that stablecoin yields have become a growth engine for DeFi by 2025, with Ethena's TVL exceeding $5 billion, and this collaboration will undoubtedly amplify Plasma's appeal.

The integration of Chainlink as an oracle provider is also significant. Plasma chose Chainlink as its official oracle to ensure the reliability of price data and cross-chain information. This is standard practice in crypto, but for a payment-oriented chain like Plasma, the accuracy of oracles is directly related to the trustworthiness of stablecoins. Coupled with broader trends, oracle networks are transitioning from simple price feeds to proof services (like Chainlink's CCIP), allowing Plasma to better bridge chains like Ethereum and Polygon. The result? Plasma users can seamlessly access multi-chain assets without worrying about data tampering risks.

Additionally, Plasma has collaborated with DeFi giants such as Aave, Pendle, and Euler to provide lending and liquidity pools. These integrations have expanded Plasma from a purely payment chain to a complete DeFi hub. Take Aave, for example; it is the king of lending in the ETH ecosystem, consistently topping the TVL charts. By deploying on Plasma, Aave users can enjoy lower fees and faster settlements, which are crucial in high-frequency trading. Coupled with the crypto wave of RWA (Real World Assets), like BlackRock's tokenized funds, these collaborations are paving the way for stablecoin payments to connect with real-world assets, such as the recent partnership with Daylight Energy for energy yield tokens.

Placing these collaborations within the larger crypto framework, Plasma's strategy reflects the industry's shift from 'general-purpose blockchains' to 'specialized applications'. The Ethereum ecosystem is facing an explosion of Layer 2 solutions (like Optimism and Arbitrum), but Layer 1s like Plasma have avoided direct competition by focusing on stablecoins, thus becoming a complement to payment infrastructure. The stablecoin market is projected to exceed $200 billion by 2025, and the regulatory environment is becoming more favorable. Regulations for stablecoins in the US and EU are driving institutional entry. Plasma's Bitcoin bridge further broadens its horizons, enabling it to capture the cross-liquidity between Bitcoin and ETH.

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