Where Money Moves - Edition #11

Stablecoin growth surged higher again over the last two weeks, with institutions, fintechs, funds, and retail investors gearing up for the next wave of growth.

Why? Because stablecoins are more than just digital dollars; they are the backbone of today’s crypto markets and the foundation for a new global financial system.

Stablecoin Spotlight: What’s Top of Mind

Plasma will launch the first dedicated institutional fund for a new global financial system.

This will be launched as a flagship partnership with Aave. Aave was the first onchain application to bring real yield to USD₮ at scale. Together with Plasma, these lending rails will extend to institutions and fintechs.

Plasma and Aave will jointly incentivize fintechs and institutions to bring billions of new people onchain.

Plasma also announced a partnership with Pendle to form Plasma’s capital markets layer, providing institutions and individuals with permissionless access to opportunities on the chain.

What’s New with Stablecoins

1️⃣ Japan set to approve its first yen-denominated stablecoin

Japan’s Financial Services Agency is set to approve JPYC, a Tokyo-based fintech, to issue a yen-denominated stablecoin backed by deposits and government bonds. JPYC intends to issue 1 trillion yen (approximately $6.78 billion) over three years.

2️⃣ Stripe announces its own layer 1 blockchain, Tempo 

Stripe announced a layer 1 blockchain called Tempo. It is reportedly backed by Paradigm, with cofounder and managing partner Matt Huang serving as the CEO.

3️⃣ Circle announces its own layer 1 blockchain, Arc 

Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced an EVM-compatible blockchain named Arc that will use USDC as its gas token. Arc’s architecture is akin to Plasma’s, particularly its use of a Reth execution layer and its approach to consensus.

In Other News

• Stablecoin issuer Circle’s second-quarter revenue results were made public in its first quarterly results since going public 

• Citigroup is exploring stablecoin custody, as well as custody services for the digital assets that back crypto related investment products  

• Chinese regulators asked major local brokers to stop publishing pro-stablecoin research to temper domestic investor interest

Stablecoin Adoption Snapshot

1️⃣ Stablecoin Supply & Growth

Stablecoin supply continues to grow unabated, with USD₮ remaining the undisputed leader in total stablecoin supply. This continues the surge in stablecoin supply that has remained unbroken since October 2024.

• Total stablecoin supply: $274 billion (+6.81% from 30 days ago)

• USD₮ remains dominant: 61.6% market share ($168.8 billion)

• Stablecoins now account for over 1.23% of the US M2 money supply

2️⃣ Adoption Continues to Surge

Stablecoin transaction volume has continued to grow over the past two weeks, alongside a steady increase in new wallets holding stablecoins.

• $2.7 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume over past 30 days (via 1.2 billion transactions)

• 189.3 million wallets hold stablecoins (up 2.32% from 30 days ago)

• 112.5 million wallets hold Tether's stablecoin, making it the clear market leader

3️⃣ Stablecoin Liquidity by Chain

Over the past two weeks, the stablecoin supply on Ethereum has continued to grow rapidly. 

• Ethereum’s stablecoin supply grew over this period by more than $4.5 billion, remaining dominant in terms of market share for supply at 53.4%. Tron follows with 30.2% of market share.

• Much of the growth that occurred over the last fortnight on Ethereum has been driven by Ethena's USDe. With deposit caps increasing on Aave for USDe, the supply of the dominant yield-bearing stablecoin has grown by over $1 billion just in the past week.

All data and charts in the Stablecoin Adoption Snapshot are courtesy of our partner, Token Terminal. Please note that while the underlying data points are accurate, certain chart segments may appear incomplete as Token Terminal continues integrating new networks. For fully verified data sets, refer to the figures provided throughout this newsletter.

Plasma: Where Money Moves Next

Stablecoins represent a step change in financial technology - a system that is borderless, permissionless, and cost-effective by design. Major countries, companies, and institutions, both traditional and modern, will demand accelerated adoption to stay ahead. 

That’s why we’re building Plasma. As stablecoins transition from crypto-native assets to a global money standard, they need faster, cheaper, more reliable and more programmable settlement infrastructure. Plasma is designed from the ground up for this future.

Whether you're a developer, investor, or simply watching where money moves next, Plasma is where the future is being built.

🔗 Join the Plasma community | Learn more