{"id":89302,"date":"2025-09-26T17:06:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T14:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=89302"},"modified":"2025-09-26T17:13:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T14:13:06","slug":"blockchain-for-the-people-or-a-gift-to-venture-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/blockchain-for-the-people-or-a-gift-to-venture-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Blockchain for the people\u2019 or a gift to venture capital?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the start of 2025, investment in stablecoin startups has exceeded<\/a> $600 million. The GENIUS Ac<\/a>t signed by Donald Trump has lowered regulatory risk and boosted demand for stablecoins; analysts now reckon the sector\u2019s market capitalisation could reach $1 trillion by 2028.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, on September 25 the team behind the stablecoin platform Plasma launched<\/a> its mainnet with the XPL token. ForkLog examines how the platform aims to enable fast, free and anonymous handling of \u201cmoney 2.0\u201d.<\/p>\n

The trillion-dollar hunt<\/h2>\n

Originally, the name Plasma was associated with a scaling protocol<\/a> proposed in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The current project, however, has little in common with that initiative.<\/p>\n

Plasma is an EVM<\/a>-compatible L1 blockchain designed for stablecoins. The developers aim to support high-speed payments and fee-free USDT<\/a> transactions. The architecture envisages anonymous transfers and composition with the Bitcoin network to bolster security and to use BTC alongside USDT as gas. The testnet went live on July 15, 2025; mainnet launched on September 25.<\/p>\n

The startup attracted its first investment in October 2024, raising $3.5 million in a seed round led by Bitfinex with support from Plasma co-founder Christian Angermayer. Other participants included Anthos Capital, Split Capital, Karatage and Manifold Trading.<\/p>\n

Its ties deepened further in February 2025, when the project raised $20.5 million in a Series A led by Framework Ventures. Additional backing came from Peter Thiel\u2019s Founders Fund, Nomura, Flow Traders, Bybit, DRW\/Cumberland and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.<\/p>\n

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Source: Plasma.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On June 13, 2025, the blockchain project set a record<\/a> for the speed of capital intake. The $500 million target was met in five minutes. After the team doubled the cap, deposits hit $1 billion in 30 minutes. Around 2,900 wallets participated; the median contribution was roughly $12,000.<\/p>\n

On July 28, during the public sale of 1 billion XPL at $0.05 per token, the programme received<\/a> $373 million in deposits versus the $50 million expected\u20147.5 times oversubscribed.<\/p>\n

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The Plasma public sale has ended with $373M+ committed to purchasing XPL, representing more than 7x in oversubscription.<\/p>\n

Plasma mainnet beta will launch with $1B in stablecoin TVL, the fastest chain to reach this number in history.<\/p>\n

We’re grateful for your support and trust. pic.twitter.com\/Pddsoa02c0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Plasma (@PlasmaFDN) July 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n