Plasma Network Goes Live With Major Backing
Plasma, a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for stablecoin operations, officially launched its mainnet beta today alongside its native XPL token. The network enters the market with significant financial backing from major industry players including Bitfinex, Bybit, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, and American billionaire Peter Thiel.
At launch, the network deployed billions in stablecoin liquidity across several prominent DeFi protocols including Aave, Ethena, Fluid, and Euler. This immediate liquidity integration suggests the team has been preparing infrastructure partnerships well in advance of the public launch.
XPL Token Performance and Distribution
The XPL token launched with a total supply of 10 billion tokens, with approximately 1.8 billion tokens currently circulating according to CoinGecko data. At the time of writing, XPL was trading around $1, giving it a market capitalization of about $1.9 billion and a fully diluted valuation approaching $10.5 billion.
Early investors who participated in the public sale back in July, when tokens were priced at $0.05, are seeing returns of roughly 20x on their initial investments. The token is currently available on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and PancakeSwap, with major centralized exchanges including Bitfinex, Binance, and OKX expected to list XPL for spot trading shortly.
Tokenomics reveal that 10% of the supply was allocated to the public sale, which reportedly was oversubscribed by more than $300 million. Another 40% is earmarked for ecosystem growth, with 8% of that unlocked at launch. The remaining 50% is split between team and investors, subject to multi-year vesting schedules.
Regulatory Considerations and Market Reception
There’s an interesting wrinkle in the circulating supply figures. While 1.8 billion tokens are technically available at launch, U.S. participants in the sale won’t receive their tokens until July 2026 due to regulatory requirements. This means the actual freely tradable supply might be lower than initial numbers suggest.
Market analysts have noted the relatively high valuation compared to current adoption levels. Delphi Digital analyst Simon highlighted that despite no live adoption yet, markets might view Plasma as an indirect way to gain exposure to Tether, which is becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Launch Products and Regional Focus
Plasma isn’t launching as an empty network. Several products are already operational, including Swarm, a DeFi platform offering nine tokenized equities issued under EU Prospectus Regulation. These provide holders with legal rights to the underlying securities.
The team is also introducing Plasma One, described as a “stablecoin-native neobank.” Initial rollout will focus on regions with significant capital movement and existing stablecoin penetration, particularly the Middle East. This targeted approach suggests a pragmatic deployment strategy rather than attempting global adoption immediately.
The launch represents a significant moment for stablecoin-focused infrastructure, though it remains to be seen how quickly adoption will materialize given the substantial valuation from day one.
