Stablecoin chains have become a battleground. Who can seize the right to speak in the industry?

Deng Tong, Golden Finance

According to data from defillama.com and artemisanalytics.com, as of August 11th, the total value of the stablecoin market exceeded $270 billion. In July of this year, Trump signed the GENIUS Act, formally establishing the US's first regulatory framework for stablecoins. However, since the market began anticipating the GENIUS Act, stablecoins have become a hotly contested area.

Fireblocks released its "State of Stablecoins in 2025" report, stating that 49% of institutions worldwide already use stablecoins for payments, and 41% are piloting or planning to use them. With giants vying for a position in the stablecoin market, which stablecoin chains are worth watching? Why are these giants investing in stablecoin chains?

1. Which stablecoin chains are worth watching? Circle: Arc, according to its official blog, announced on August 12th the launch of Arc, an open Layer-1 blockchain designed specifically for stablecoin finance. Arc uses USDC as its native gas, supports low and predictable USD-denominated fees, and features a built-in institutional-grade foreign exchange engine, enabling 24/7 automated settlement between stablecoins. Arc leverages the high-performance Malachite consensus mechanism, supporting sub-second finality and optional privacy. The EVM-compatible chain targets applications such as cross-border payments, stablecoin derivatives, on-chain credit, and capital market settlement. Developers can implement use cases on the chain including cross-border payments and disbursements, stablecoin foreign exchange perpetual contracts, on-chain credit and off-chain trust, capital market settlement and tokenized collateral, agency commerce, and programmatic payments. Arc is expected to launch in public beta this fall, with a mainnet launch in 2026.

With the launch of Arc, Circle announced a 53% year-over-year increase in total revenue and reserve income in the second quarter, reaching $658 million. Circle stated that its upcoming Arc is "purpose-built for stablecoin finance," marking a major milestone in the company's mission to "provide a full-stack platform for the internet financial system." "Arc will be fully integrated into Circle's platform and services, and will also remain fully available and interoperable with the dozens of other partner blockchains supported by Circle."

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated in an exclusive interview that with the passage of the GENIUS Act by the U.S. Congress, which established a clear regulatory framework for stablecoin business, this area has become the most dynamic sector in the cryptocurrency market. Circle will explore the application of blockchain payment systems in traditional financial institutions. Stablecoin technology is gaining attention from traditional financial institutions and policymakers, and is expected to open up new application scenarios in the payment and commerce fields in the future. Stripe and Paradigm: Tempo On August 11th, news broke that fintech giant Stripe and crypto venture capital firm Paradigm were collaborating to develop a high-performance, payment-focused Layer 1 blockchain called Tempo. Tempo uses the same programming language as Ethereum, allowing developers to directly migrate existing smart contracts, lowering the technical barrier to entry. It is designed to support high-frequency, low-latency payment transactions, with a particular focus on real-time settlement of stablecoins and cross-border payment scenarios. By using blockchain technology, it aims to significantly reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency by bypassing traditional intermediaries like Visa and Mastercard. The project is currently under low-key development, with a five-person team. It is unclear whether the project will issue its own native token. The launch of Tempo marks Stripe's official transition from a payments intermediary to a foundational builder of blockchain technology. By controlling stablecoin issuance (Bridge), wallet access (Privy), and transaction settlement (Tempo), Stripe will form a complete payment ecosystem and fundamentally transform the traditional payment process.

USDT: Plasma

In February of this year, stablecoin company Plasma raised $24 million to develop a new blockchain for Tether's USDT.

Plasma is an EVM-compatible Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain. It runs on PlasmaBFT, an improved Fast HotStuff design designed for high-throughput, low-latency stablecoin transfers. Its execution layer is built on Reth, providing full EVM compatibility. It utilizes a dual-validator architecture: one validator cluster is responsible for consensus security, while the other is dedicated to processing gas-free USDT transfers. Plasma offers zero-fee USDT transfers, specifically designed for basic USDT payments. This feature runs on a parallel blockchain layer to avoid mainnet congestion, allowing users to choose to wait a bit longer in exchange for fee-free transfers. Users can also pay transaction fees using authorized tokens (such as USDT or BTC), eliminating the need to hold a dedicated gas token. The off-chain system automatically converts these into Plasma's native gas token, XPL, at market price. Plasma co-founder Paul Faecks previously revealed that the new blockchain will be built on the Bitcoin network and attract users by offering zero-fee USDt transactions. Plasma's focus on stablecoin transactions means it will be able to process and settle transactions quickly. Tether: Stable is Tether's EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, aiming to replace general-purpose public chains in cross-border payments and institutional settlements through zero-fee transactions, high throughput, and a network of compliant validating nodes. Its core features include a native USDT gas mechanism, sub-second confirmations, and regulatory compliance. On July 2nd, the USDT-based Layer 1 network, Stable, released its roadmap: Phase 1 implements the USDT base layer, using USDT as the native gas token, achieving sub-second block times and finality, and launching a stable wallet to enhance the user experience. Phase 2 implements the USDT experience layer, adopting optimistic parallel execution to increase transaction throughput, introducing a USDT transfer aggregator and dedicated blockspace for enterprises to ensure efficient processing and consistent performance. Phase 3 implements the USDT full-stack optimization layer, upgrading to a DAG-based consensus for increased speed and resiliency, and expanding developer tools and resources to facilitate dApp development.

Cosmos: Noble

Noble is a native asset issuance chain built on the Cosmos SDK. It aims to become a "world-class issuance hub for interoperable digital assets," supporting not only the issuance of stablecoins but also the tokenization and issuance of real-world assets. In September 2023, Circle selected Noble as the launch platform for USDC, the native Cosmos ecosystem token, supporting cross-chain integration to the ecosystem's full application chain via the Interbank Business Chain (IBCC) protocol. In December 2024, the Noble blockchain launched USDN, a US dollar-denominated stablecoin. This stablecoin utilizes M^0's "permissioned minting" mechanism and is backed by short-term US Treasury bonds. Holding USDN offers a projected annualized return of 4.2%. Furthermore, fintech company Monerium launched EURe, the first native euro-denominated stablecoin in the Cosmos ecosystem, on the Noble blockchain. Second, Why Are Giants Investing in Stablecoin Chains? Global banks and traditional financial giants are actively integrating blockchain technology and stablecoins into their products, and the stablecoin arms race has already begun. This trend is accelerating with the passage of the GENIUS Act by the US Senate to regulate stablecoins. 1. A Favorable Regulatory Environment 2025 has already become a watershed year for stablecoin policy. The US GENIUS Act and Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance establish clear frameworks for stablecoin regulation, directly driving the market from "unbridled growth" to "compliant competition." Trump has stated that stablecoins are a revolution in fintech and that the Stablecoin Act represents a significant endorsement of cryptocurrencies. Federal Reserve Board Governor Waller stated that stablecoins bring competition to the payment system, but does not consider them a threat. Federal Reserve Governor Musallem believes that stablecoins are an interesting innovation in the payments sector, and establishing a regulatory framework is a good thing. Stablecoins have the potential to become a vital component of payments. US Vice President Cyril Vance stated that once the GENIUS Act is enacted, it is expected to significantly expand the use of stablecoins as a digital payment system, providing convenience for millions of Americans. This will also protect coin holders and enhance market transparency.

2. Growing Market Demand

Standard Chartered Bank has predicted that stablecoins currently account for 40% of all blockchain transaction fees, with Ethereum accounting for more than half of all stablecoins. By the end of 2028, the stablecoin industry will have grown approximately eightfold.

Coinbase's latest research shows that stablecoins are becoming a core driver of the future of finance. Record monthly transaction volumes were set in December 2024 and April 2025, reaching US$719 billion and US$717.1 billion, respectively. In 2024, the total annual transaction volume of stablecoins reached US$27.6 trillion, exceeding the total transaction volume of Visa and Mastercard by 7.68%. The rise of on-chain activity and the acceleration of global adoption mark a fundamental shift in the evolution of currency, and stablecoins are becoming a major catalyst, driving real-world use cases. 3. Seize Industry Voice
According to GLG Research, nearly one-fifth of Fortune 500 executives consider on-chain projects a crucial component of their company's strategy, a 47% year-over-year increase. The development of stablecoin chains is essentially a battle for "bookkeeping rights" and "coinage rights." By developing stablecoin chains, giants can upgrade from "crypto market participants" to "crypto rule-makers," ultimately occupying a core position in the reshuffled financial system. Circle's Arc, through its Malachite consensus mechanism and USDC native gas design, has established the technical standard for low-friction settlement on stablecoin chains. Other institutions seeking to integrate into the USDC ecosystem must adhere to Arc's cross-chain interface and fee rules. Tether's Stable, with its core features of USDT as its native gas and zero-fee transfers, has forced other stablecoin chains to adopt similar mechanisms to remain competitive, indirectly embedding USDT usage into industry standards. Cosmos' Noble, leveraging the IBC protocol, has become a hub for cross-chain stablecoin circulation. Its cross-chain asset verification rules have been adopted by over 20 application chains within the Cosmos ecosystem, establishing a leading cross-chain stablecoin standard within the ecosystem. As regulatory signals become clearer and market demand grows, crypto giants are exploring more than just issuing stablecoins and are now setting their sights on a more ambitious goal: developing stablecoin chains. This competition around the stablecoin chain is not only a fight among giants for the right to speak in the future of finance, but also a great experiment to guide the deeper integration of encryption technology and traditional finance.