Where Money Moves - Edition #17

Stablecoin growth has slowed over the last two weeks with a broader market decline. Nonetheless, institutions, fintechs, funds, and retail investors remain positioned and ready 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

Last week, the Co-Founder of Plasma released a November update, covering what we have achieved since the launch of our mainnet. Below is a summary of this update. For the full update, read this article

It has been seven weeks since Plasma mainnet went live. In that time we strengthened the network, improved how we operate, and laid the foundation for the next stage of growth.

Our engineering focus has been to create a lean, maintainable, and extensible base. The codebase was refactored into a hexagonal architecture to make it easier to extend, audit, and contribute to. Testing and automation expanded to improve reliability at scale. Backend diversity increased across regions and providers to reduce correlated failures. Data compression was added, snapshotting and sync were enhanced, and peer discovery was rebuilt to enable open access. APIs for zero-fee USD₮ transfers were shipped, new transparency dashboards went live, and the mobile experience for the mainnet dashboard has been improved.

For Plasma One, we are building the payments backend and wallet architecture in-house to minimise fees, and expand our coverage, reliability, and custody. The payments system is modular by region, includes a shared KYC module for cards, on/off-ramps, and virtual accounts, a flexible card-issuing module across multiple issuers, and a high-performance core ledger. On the compliance side, we acquired a VASP-licensed entity in Italy, opened a Netherlands office, and hired senior compliance leadership. 

On partnerships, we prioritise three verticals: payment infrastructure, exchanges and market makers, and DeFi. The goal is to connect Plasma to what people and businesses already use, then make those connections cheaper, faster, and more reliable. Two recent examples illustrate the approach. With Zerohash, we are building the rails for money movement so leading companies can offer USD₮ on Plasma through trusted settlement and compliance workflows. With Daylight, users gain access to electricity-backed returns via a yield-bearing asset on Plasma, expanding the range of real-world income sources available onchain. 

Post-launch, we restructured to improve clarity and speed, with our engineering department splitting into two teams, one for the chain and one for Plasma One. This reduced context switching and increased velocity. We invested in processes and documentation, made key personnel decisions, and brought in an engineering lead to unify Plasma One. We are moving to a stronger in-office model in London and growing our headquarters to support it.

The work over the past two months has put us in a stronger position to execute with more speed and clarity. Strengthening the core chain and building the right partnerships puts Plasma in position to become the most reliable place to move stablecoins at scale. Plasma One will build on this foundation by making stablecoins useful for everyday spending and saving for people and businesses around the world.

What’s New with Stablecoins

1️⃣ Fed governor flags rate impact from stablecoins

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said wider stablecoin adoption could put downward pressure on short-term interest rates, noting rising demand for US Treasury bills from stablecoin issuers.

2️⃣ Bank of England signals flexibility on backing assets

The Bank of England proposed allowing issuers to hold up to 60% of reserves in government debt, alongside other rule changes, while keeping planned caps on how much stablecoin individuals and businesses can hold.

3️⃣ Circle quarterly earnings surpass expectations

Circle reported quarterly results ahead of expectations, driven by higher reserve income and increased USDC circulation.

In Other News

• Block’s Cash App, by former Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, announced support for Bitcoin and stablecoin payments for consumer spend and peer-to-peer transfer

• Sui introduced USDsui, a network stablecoin issued through Stripe’s Open Issuance platform operated by Bridge, enabling direct issuance and management on Sui

• Visa launched a pilot that lets businesses pay creators, freelancers, and gig workers in stablecoins, expanding settlement options beyond traditional bank rails

Stablecoin Adoption Snapshot

1️⃣ Stablecoin Supply & Growth

Over the past two weeks, stablecoin supply contracted alongside the broader market. USDC recorded the largest decline, while USD₮ continued to grow. This marks the first pullback in circulating supply since the uninterrupted expansion that began in October 2024.

• Total stablecoin supply: $304.0 billion (-1.11% from 30 days ago)

• USD₮ remains dominant: 60.51% market share ($184.0 billion)

• Stablecoins now account for over 1.37% of the US M2 money supply

2️⃣ Adoption Continues to Surge

Stablecoin transaction volume has similarly shrunk over the past two weeks. Despite this, the number of wallets holding stablecoins continued to grow.

• $3.6 trillion in adjusted stablecoin transaction volume over past 30 days (via 1.5 billion transactions)

• 200.9 million wallets hold stablecoins (up 3.18% from 30 days ago)

• 119.8 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 declined rapidly. In contrast, the circulating stablecoin on Tron grew significantly.

• Ethereum’s stablecoin supply fell by more than $1.3 billion over the last week. 

• In the same period, Tron’s stablecoin supply grew by just over $1.3 billion.

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.

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