Paul Fex and Christian Angermayer have launched a new stablecoin platform called Plasma. The platform aims to enable fast, free, and anonymous handling of “money 2.0”. Plasma is an Ethereum-compatible L1 blockchain designed for stablecoins.
The developers want to support high-speed payments and fee-free transactions. The architecture plans for anonymous transfers and integration with the Bitcoin network for enhanced security. BTC will be used alongside USDT as gas.
The testnet launched on July 15, 2025, and the mainnet on September 25. The startup raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Bitfinex in October 2024. They later raised $20.5 million in a Series A led by Framework Ventures.
Other backers included Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Nomura, Flow Traders, Bybit, DRW/Cumberland, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. On June 13, 2025, the project met its $500 million funding target in just five minutes. It doubled the cap and hit $1 billion in 30 minutes, engaging around 2,900 wallets with a median contribution of roughly $12,000.
During the public sale on July 28, the program raised $373 million, much more than the expected $50 million. Researcher Vladimir Menaskop shared his view of Plasma’s potential impact. He hopes the industry will move away from zero-sum competition.
Plasma aims to integrate new tokens into the existing ecosystem, improving cash flow and reducing transaction costs. Plasma’s team has specialists with experience in both crypto and traditional finance. Co-founder and CEO Paul Fex previously co-founded one of Tether’s institutional ventures.
Plasma’s promising fee-free transactions
Co-founder and investor Christian Angermayer organized early funding rounds. Plasma offers an alternative to high fees and cumbersome gas tokens of networks like Ethereum and TRON.
The network’s architecture supports high performance with near-instant transactions. Plasma’s native XPL token is used for transaction fees, validator rewards, and governance. A key feature is a dual node set: one for consensus and another for processing fee-free USDT transfers quickly and at low cost.
The network promises anonymous transfers, expected to conceal transaction details while allowing selective disclosure for audits or regulatory compliance. At mainnet launch, Plasma’s stablecoin TVL exceeded $2 billion, with funds distributed across various DeFi protocols. Plasma plans integrations with Aave, Maker, Curve, and Ethena.
Some remain skeptical about Plasma’s immediate impact on global adoption or displacement of TRON. Anonymity and free transactions, which aren’t implemented yet, might attract users. But it’s unclear if Plasma will significantly affect global crypto adoption soon.
XPL drew attention even before its free circulation. On August 27, the XPL/USD contract surged to about $1.8 on Hyperliquid, triggering mass liquidations. Despite this, the price stayed around $0.55 on other platforms like Binance.
Some criticized the process for favoring “whales,” with roughly 70% of the $1 billion in deposits held by the top 100 wallets. Plasma’s ambitious vision sets it on a promising path. But questions remain about its capacity for global adoption and competition with established networks.
The market will be watching to see how Plasma addresses these challenges and fulfills its potential.
