Plasma Raises $20M to Revolutionize Stablecoin Transactions on Bitcoin

Plasma, a crypto startup backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Framework Ventures. The company aims to develop a Bitcoin-based network specifically designed for stablecoins, enabling efficient transactions with zero-fee USDT transfers.

The funding round follows an earlier $4 million seed round, with investors including Peter Thiel, Paolo Ardoino (CEO of Tether), Bitfinex, and prominent crypto traders Cobie and Zaheer Ebtikar (Split Capital). The new capital will support Plasma's testnet and mainnet launches, as well as its expansion into remittances, payments, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Stablecoins have emerged as a dominant force in the crypto market, with a combined supply exceeding $220 billion. While Bitcoin is the longest-running blockchain, most stablecoin activity occurs on newer chains like Ethereum, Tron, and Solana. Plasma aims to address the challenges faced by stablecoins on existing blockchains, such as high fees and scalability limits, by leveraging Bitcoin's security and offering zero-fee USDT transactions.

Plasma is designed as a sidechain on the Bitcoin blockchain, with full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The company's founder and CEO, Paul Faecks, stated, "Stablecoins are the clear winner in blockchain adoption, yet they’re treated as second-class citizens on current blockchains. By leveraging Bitcoin as a foundation, zero-fee USDT transfers, alongside a purpose-built ecosystem and infrastructure for stablecoins with deep liquidity, Plasma creates the most secure, scalable, and efficient blockchain for stablecoins on the market."