Plasma’s XPL Token Attracts $500 Million From Investors

Plasma, a purpose-built crypto start-up developing Bitcoin sidechain for stablecoins, attracted $500 million in deposits for its token sale within minutes on Monday, 10 times more than originally planned.

According to on-chain data and statements from Plasma, the XPL sale saw overwhelming demand from retail and institutional investors alike. The token offering was conducted via a decentralized launchpad, and the entire allocation sold out in less than 15 minutes.

The fundraising cap was filled as investors scrambled to earn an allocation for the token distribution, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence. The ceiling was lifted from $250 million, which had already been increased from a $50 million original target announced just two weeks ago.

According to a report in CoinDesk, over 1,100 wallets participated in the sale of Plasma’s XPL token, with a median allocation of roughly $35,000, the company said in an X post. The offering was conducted on Sonar, a public token sale platform built by Echo, a crypto-focused private fundraising start-up led by prominent investor Cobie.

The outsized demand underscores surging investor interest in stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional currencies like the US dollar, and the infrastructure that supports them. Stablecoins have become a dominant force in crypto, with total supply surpassing $250 billion, and are increasingly used for everyday finances like payments, remittances and savings.

While Bitcoin remains the oldest and most secure blockchain, most stablecoin activity occurred on Monday on newer networks such as Ethereum, Tron, and Solana. Plasma aims to bring native stablecoin utility to Bitcoin by building a sidechain fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the software standard that underpins much of decentralised finance.

The Plasma chain will address key challenges faced by stablecoins on existing blockchains — including high fees and scalability limits — by leveraging Bitcoin’s security and enabling zero-fee transactions for Tether’s USDT.

Rising Appetite for Stablecoins

Another report from NFT Evening, Plasma’s fundraising follows a string of market signals pointing to rising appetite for stablecoin exposure. Just last week, Circle (CRCL), issuer of the $60 billion USDC stablecoin, completed a blockbuster public market debut, with shares surging over $110 from a $31 IPO price.

“This is one of the most competitive sales we’ve ever seen. We expected interest, but the reality exceeded even our most optimistic forecasts,” a core developer at Plasma said.

The success of the XPL sale reflects growing investor appetite for infrastructure plays, particularly those centered on ZK technologies. As privacy and scalability remain two of the blockchain industry’s biggest bottlenecks, platforms like Plasma are attracting heightened interest, NFT Evening report said.

The success of the XPL sale reflects growing investor appetite for infrastructure plays, particularly those centered on ZK technologies. As privacy and scalability remain two of the blockchain industry’s biggest bottlenecks, platforms like Plasma are attracting heightened interest.

About Plasma

Plasma is a next-generation infrastructure project focused on scaling zero-knowledge (ZK) applications. The platform provides developer tools and middleware to help build performant, modular ZK systems that can integrate seamlessly across chains.

With backing from prominent investors and early partners in the ZK ecosystem, Plasma has quickly emerged as a foundational layer for privacy-preserving and data-efficient Web3 applications.

The XPL token is designed to serve multiple roles within the Plasma ecosystem, including network governance, staking for node security, and incentivizing developers who contribute to open-source modules and ZK proofs.