From $0.1 to $8390: After the Plasma XPL Airdrop myth, can it reshape the future of payments?

The Plasma Mainnet Beta version officially launched on September 25, 2025, and this Layer 1 stablecoin payment project supported by Bitfinex created a sensation in the market upon its release. Not only does it integrate more than 100 DeFi protocols including Aave, Ethena, Fluid, and Euler, but it also created a stunning airdrop myth: by investing just $0.1, one could obtain XPL tokens worth $8390. This astonishing return rate sparked enthusiastic discussions among global encryption investors and led to the question: what is the future development outlook for Plasma?

Epic Airdrop: Minimum Investment for Maximum Returns

The token distribution mechanism of Plasma breaks the traditional Airdrop rules, bringing unexpected surprises to participants of the pre-stored ICO plan. Regardless of how much money investors deposit—be it 0.1 dollars or 10,000 dollars—each participant receives the same amount of XPL Tokens, worth up to 8390 dollars.

“This may be one of the highest return on investment airdrops in cryptocurrency history,” commented a crypto analyst. “Exchanging $0.1 for $8390 translates to a return rate of 83,900 times, which is unimaginable in any investment field.”

The Plasma team stated that within just three hours of the Mainnet test version going live, half of the ICO participants had claimed their Tokens. A total of 25 million XPL was evenly distributed among all pre-savers, breaking the traditional model of “more investment, more return.”

XPL Token Economics and Market Performance

The initial supply of XPL is 10 billion coins, and currently, 18% (1.8 billion coins) are in circulation. In terms of token distribution:

It is worth noting that due to regulatory factors, American investors will have to wait until July 28, 2026, to receive XPL, which means that the actual amount of tokens traded is less than 1.8 billion.

Since its launch on mainstream exchanges on September 25, the price of XPL has remained relatively stable, having previously broken through $1.6, and is currently quoted at $1.51. The market's enthusiasm for XPL has also attracted the attention of large investors. On-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa has monitored that a mysterious whale holds 24.29 million XPL (worth approximately $39.6 million) and has transferred these Tokens to the Plasma Mainnet.

Plasma (XPL) Development Timeline

Market Positioning and Competitive Advantages of Plasma

Plasma, as a Layer 1 blockchain dedicated to stablecoins supported by Tether, has a unique market position. Delphi Digital analyst @simononchain pointed out: “The market may see Plasma as a long-tail way to access Tether, while Tether is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world.”

This special relationship is reflected on multiple levels:

· Tether's parent company Bitfinex participated in the investment in Plasma.

· Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino personally participated in the financing of Plasma.

· USDT is growing rapidly worldwide, with on-chain transfer counts in the first half of 2025 increasing by 120% compared to the entire year of 2024.

“Investing in Plasma can be seen as a way to indirectly invest in Tether,” said an industry expert. “As Tether continues to expand its global influence, especially in regions like West Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, Plasma will also benefit from it.”

Facing fierce competition in the stablecoin chain

Despite Plasma's close ties with Tether, it still faces fierce competition from multiple parties:

The Technical Advantages and Future Development of Plasma

1. Amazing Performance After Mainnet Launch

Plasma Mainnet went live and absorbed over $4 billion in cryptocurrency within just 24 hours, ranking eighth in the value of deposits in the blockchain Decentralized Finance sector. This achievement is mainly attributed to Plasma's lending vault and users locking assets in partnered DeFi protocols can earn the network's native Token XPL. Even more surprisingly, within just two days, the supply of stablecoins on the Plasma chain has surpassed $7 billion.

2. Plasma on-chain stablecoin supply growth

The core technical advantages of Plasma include:

· Achieve zero-fee USDT transfers through a custom consensus called PlasmaBFT

· Seamless integration of over 100 DeFi protocols

· High-speed transaction processing capability

3. Plasma One: An Innovative Attempt at Stablecoin Banking

On September 22, Plasma announced the launch of Plasma One— the first native stablecoin new bank. This product primarily targets users in emerging markets with high demand for US dollars and offers several innovative features:

“Plasma One will fully integrate the entire ecosystem into a single application,” said the Plasma team. “This includes the DeFi ecosystem, exchange integration, and payment partners, providing unified pricing, liquidity, and user experience.”

Conclusion: Can Plasma achieve its grand vision?

The vision of Plasma is to change the way global funds flow, providing an efficient and low-cost dedicated blockchain for stablecoins. Its close relationship with Tether, the technological advantage of zero-fee transfers, and the innovative banking model of Plasma One all provide a solid foundation for its future development.

However, in the face of multiple competition from traditional public chains, emerging stablecoin chains, and technology giants, whether Plasma can maintain its competitive advantage in the long term remains an open question.

Plasma CEO Paul Faecks once pointed out: “The dollar is a product that most people in the world crave to obtain. Stablecoins provide a basic, permissionless way to hold and transfer dollars anywhere.”

The airdrop myth from 0.1 dollars to 8390 dollars is just the beginning. Can Plasma truly reshape the future of the global payment system? Let's wait and see.