SpiceUSD priceUSDS

After reviewing the broad market data over the past week, one pattern became impossible to ignore: Crypto no longer runs on $ETH or $BTC. It runs on dollars. The total stablecoin supply, $312.3B now, is not just liquidity. It has become the monetary base of the entire crypto economy. Stablecoins now play the same role that M2 does in traditional finance: they serve as the denominator for every yield, collateral, and leverage cycle in DeFi. Every expansion and contraction in stablecoin supply has mapped closely to the market’s risk-on and risk-off phases. ● Why This Shift Redefines Crypto’s Economy From a macro perspective, crypto has entered its dollarization phase. This shift has three defining features: > Stable liquidity exceeds speculative liquidity: Yield, staking, and perpetual futures are all settled in USD terms. > Dollar rails are becoming the infrastructure layer: Cross-chain flows, RWAs, and restaking activities are now denominated in stable value. > Supply growth equals credit expansion: When stablecoin supply increases, DeFi TVL and trading activity expand almost mechanically. This dynamic means that blockchains no longer represent “alternative economies.” They now operate as parallel dollar economies. ● The Onchain Metrics Here are Stablecoin market share and Supply as of October 2025 (DefiLlama data): ➤ $USDT (57.9%): $180.8B ➤ $USDC (24.4%): $75.7B ➤ $USDe(4.0%): $12.3B ➤ $USDS + $DAI (4.1%): $12.7B ➤ Others (4.9%): $15.3B Total $312B However, velocity is the real signal. When stablecoins circulate through lending pools, perpetual futures, or restaking vaults, credit expands. When they sit idle in wallets or treasuries, liquidity slows. Historical examples show the pattern clearly: In 2020, stablecoin supply grew fivefold, and DeFi TVL rose from $1 billion to $100 billion. In 2022, redemptions erased $10 billion, and TVL dropped by half. In 2025, supply has plateaued, and so has growth. Stablecoin velocity is becoming crypto’s version of M2 money velocity. ● Competitive Landscape Issuers are competing to define how crypto holds dollar liquidity. 🔹Centralized Giants ( $USDT, $USDC ): Over 80% of supply; deep liquidity but dependent on banks and regulators. 🔹Protocol-Native Dollars ( $DAI, $sDAI, $crvUSD ): Backed by staked ETH, RWAs, and vault yields. 🔹Synthetic Stablecoins ( $USDe, $FDUSD ): Use perps and hedged strategies to stay uncustodied yet yield-bearing. 🔹RWA Primitives ( $OUSG ): Tokenize Treasuries yielding 4.5–5.2% and plug into restaking for “yield-backed dollars.” Each answers the same question: how can crypto sustain dollar liquidity without centralized custody? Each design attempts to answer the same structural question: How can crypto sustain dollar liquidity without relying on centralized custody? ● What’s Next? > Stablecoin Expansion Will Reprice Risk: As supply grows, leverage and TVL will likely expand in lockstep. > Yield-Bearing Collateral Will Lead: RWAs and restaking receipts will merge into hybrid, interest-bearing dollar instruments. > Velocity Will Become a Market Indicator: Stablecoin velocity will replace price charts as the leading macro signal for market direction. > Dollar Infrastructure Will Be the New Battleground: Control of issuance, redemption, and composability rails will define the next cycle’s winners: Circle, Ethena, and Falcon. ● My Take From my perspective, this is crypto’s most structural yet overlooked shift. Everyone talks about AI, L2s, and restaking, but everything still settles in dollars. Stablecoins aren’t a byproduct of liquidity. They are the liquidity. Until supply expands again, crypto stays in quiet monetary tightening. If DeFi is the economy, stablecoins are its money supply, and that supply isn’t growing.

Two 'stablecoins' with a similar outstanding supply, but differing usage & holder metrics: 🛒 @circle's USDC on @solana = consumer payments & trading 💹 @SkyEcosystem USDS on @ethereum = institutional high-yield savings account

The top two stablecoins in the market: USDT and USDC. No yield for holders. The top two challenger stablecoins: USDe and USDS. Yield for holders. Interesting.

Why Plasma Matters Stablecoins move trillions of dollars every year, but they still operate on blockchains that were never designed for them. Ethereum, Solana, and others prioritize general-purpose applications, which forces stablecoin activity to compete with NFTs, DeFi, and memecoins. The outcome is clear: congestion, unpredictable fees, and slow settlement times. Plasma takes a different approach it’s built entirely around stablecoins, aiming to provide fast, predictable, and secure settlement. Technology Foundation Plasma relies on three critical components that define its performance: 🔹 PlasmaBFT Consensus: High-speed, low-latency protocol, resilient against malicious validators. 🔹 Reth-Based EVM Engine: Full Ethereum compatibility for seamless dApp migration. 🔹 Bitcoin Bridge: Trust-minimized connection combining Bitcoin’s settlement security with EVM programmability. XPL in the Ecosystem XPL is the token that keeps Plasma running. It ensures network security through staking, pays for transaction fees, and represents governance power for protocol upgrades and community proposals. Future enhancements will allow stablecoin-based fees and zero-cost USDT transfers, but XPL’s role in staking and governance guarantees its long-term importance. Token Sale Structure The XPL sale takes place in two distinct phases: 🔹 Phase 1 – Vault Deposits: Users deposit USDT, USDC, DAI, or USDS into Plasma’s Ethereum Vault. Deposits earn time-weighted allocation units, rewarding early participants. 🔹 Phase 2 – Public Sale: Buyers purchase tokens at a fixed $0.05 price. A total of 1 billion tokens (10% of supply) are offered, with a $50 million target raise. Oversubscriptions are handled pro rata. Tokens remain locked for a minimum of 40 days. Key Sale Information 🔹 Tokens Offered: 1,000,000,000 XPL (10%) 🔹 Fundraising Goal: $50 million 🔹 Fixed Price: $0.05 per XPL 🔹 Sale Window: 17 – 28 July 2025 🔹 Distribution Date: 1 September 2025 🔹 Custodian: BitGo Europe GmbH (MiCA regulated) Compliance & Safeguards Plasma ensures a regulated framework for investors. The sale operates under British Virgin Islands law and aligns with EU MiCA requirements, giving European participants a 14-day withdrawal right. Custody is handled by BitGo Europe GmbH, and KYC/AML processes are powered by Echo’s Sonar system. Risks to Consider Like all early blockchain projects, Plasma carries uncertainties. The consensus protocol and Bitcoin bridge are still new and could face implementation issues. Regulatory changes may alter token availability, and XPL’s value will depend on adoption and liquidity. 🔹 Key Risk Areas: Technology maturity, regulatory shifts, liquidity/access, and operational execution. Sustainability Profile Plasma has been designed to operate efficiently, consuming around 200,000 kWh annually the same as about 19 U.S. households. Its projected carbon footprint of ~92 tonnes CO₂e/year is far below Visa or SWIFT. Validators run on consumer-grade hardware, minimizing electronic waste. Final Outlook Plasma isn’t competing to be the everything-chain. It’s built for one thing stablecoins. With XPL securing the network, enabling governance, and fueling its economy, Plasma offers a focused solution in an over-diversified market. If stablecoins continue leading global crypto adoption, Plasma and $XPL could become the backbone of tomorrow’s digital payment rails.

🚨💵 An overview of stablecoins & tokenized money market funds: ▪️ The stablecoin category is growing increasingly diverse & competitive ▪️ Top 5 issuers based on supply: Tether, Circle, Ethena, Sky, and WLFI ▪️ Networks with over $10B in natively minted stablecoins: Ethereum, Tron, and Solana ▪️ Most of the challenger stablecoins pay yield: USDe, USDS, BUIDL, USDG, AUSD, etc. ▪️ USD stablecoins dominate, with few alternative currencies, such as EUR, in the top 100 ▪️ The biggest stablecoin by supply: USDT on Ethereum ▪️ The fastest growing stablecoin (on a % basis): Ethena's USDe on Ethereum What did we miss? Let us know in the comments.