Stablecoins might be crypto’s clearest product-market fit — but the infrastructure hasn’t kept up.Since 2023, stablecoin payments have surged from under $2 billion per month to $7.3 billion. Yet, most of that volume rides rails not purpose-built for stables.Enter @PlasmaFDN: a new USDT-centric blockchain that just filled its $500 million token sale cap instantly. One user paid nearly $100,000 in gas to get in.Here’s why Plasma could become stablecoins’ new home base.👇~~ Analysis by @davewardonline ~~What Is Plasma? —Plasma is an EVM-compatible, Proof of Stake chain designed specifically for stablecoin payments. Though not officially a “Tether chain,” it’s funded by Tether/Bitfinex-linked capital and Founders Fund, creating tight alignment with the world’s largest stablecoin issuer — which will have special privileges on the network.Tether won’t be the only stablecoin on Plasma. Integrations are expected with Aave, Maker, Curve, Ethena, and others. Mainnet is slated for Q2 and will include familiar stablecoin DeFi: lending, borrowing, and more.Plasma’s Architecture —Plasma runs on PlasmaBFT: a modified Fast HotStuff consensus, optimized for fast, low-latency transfers like Hyperliquid. Execution runs on Reth, a modular, Rust-based Ethereum engine, giving it full EVM support.The chain uses a dual-validator system: one validator set secures consensus, while a second handles high-speed, gasless USDT transfers. That second set starts permissioned but will decentralize over time.Features include:➢ Zero-fee USDT transfers: A separate lane handles free USDT payments. Transfers may take longer but avoid fees. Spam protection is enforced via rules like minimum balances and send limits.➢ Custom gas tokens: Apps can let users pay fees in USDT, BTC, or other approved tokens. Behind the scenes, the network swaps them to XPL, Plasma’s gas token.➢ Confidential transactions: Shielded transfers will hide transaction details while remaining compliant.➢ Bitcoin-anchored security: Plasma checkpoints its state to Bitcoin. Rewriting history would require rewriting Bitcoin’s. BTC staking and withdrawals are secured via Taproot and threshold signatures, without a custodian. Plasma is live today, no need to wait for OP_CAT.The Tether Connection —Plasma and Tether are deeply linked.Besides funding ties and perks like zero-fee transfers and gas-token privileges, Plasma will support @USDT0_to — a third-party crosschain version of USDT — extending its reach.Further, co-founder Christian Angermeyer has managed Tether’s investments into sectors like AI and mining, cementing the relationship further.Why Tether? —Plasma CEO Paul Faecks says it’s simple: people want a reliable stablecoin. Tether provides dollar access globally without needing local banks. USDC may yield 4%, but Tether dominates in markets like Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria, and Argentina — places where crypto is used as money, not middleware.Tether’s also expanding into tokenized assets through its @hadron_tether platform, including a recent Plasma partnership with @uraniumdigital_ to bring uranium onchain.Worth Watching? —Purpose-built chains have not gained much traction to date beyond outliers like Hyperliquid.With Plasma following a similar path — specialized infrastructure optimized for a specific use case rather than general-purpose smart contracts — it’ll be interesting to see how things unfold and whether this marks a turning point in chain design.

Our founder @PoseidonOutlier sharing @OutliersFund's thesis of investing in startup teams with "Nikola Tesla + Thomas Edison" at TEAMZ Web3/AI Summit in Tokyo 🇯🇵 https://t.co/UQYRp8k2Iz

🚀 On February 20th, at the Golden Chao Yang Phase II Center in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Eric Jiang, the Founder of #Cococat, will deliver a speech at a gathering of industry leaders. This event will bring together over 40 renowned institutions to discuss the future of Web3, blockchain, and decentralized technologies.🔥 Institutions such as #DraperDragon, #OKX, #Bitget, #AnimocaVentures, #AegisVentures, #SolowinHoldings, #OutliersFund, #TidoCapital, #OasisLabs, #NewTribeCapital, #ArcticMonks, #Web3Link, #NanoLabs, #SIGAsiaInvestments, and many more will be present, shaping the next era of innovation. 🌐 #Web3 #Blockchainhttps://t.co/GRLprZmUEi

DeFi platform on Soneium Sonex raised $1M in a Seed funding round led by @OutliersFund, with participation from @BaboonVC, @Taisu_Ventures, @nngcap, @flowtraders, @gate_ventures, @LootexIO. https://t.co/3zrJ1LAVkM https://t.co/SJ4QPgyHSu

Satoshi Protocol Secures $2 Million Seed Funding to Expand Bitcoin Ecosystem