On September 25, 2025, the day the Plasma mainnet officially launched, the buzz indeed reached a fever pitch. The on-chain stablecoin volume on the first day soared to over $7 billion, with $250 million being absorbed within the first hour alone—an impressive feat that could truly be called "phenomenal" at the time.

Fast forward to January 2026, and the story has changed. XPL has fallen approximately 70% from its all-time high, now fluctuating around $0.155, with a market cap stable at about $3.2 billion. From the glamorous first day to the current predicament, the core selling point of Plasma—"USDT zero-fee transfers"—is now being repeatedly questioned whether it can truly sustain long-term value.

Honestly, from a logical standpoint, zero fees seem more like a strategic concession used early on to attract scale. Plasma's plan is clear: use extremely low transfer costs to bring in a large volume of stablecoins for accumulation, then gradually convert this "traffic" into "revenue" through high-value scenarios like DeFi and lending. It sounds quite reasonable.

But the problem lies in reality. Although the on-chain funds appear substantial, the growth in complex contract calls, activity on lending protocols, and genuine financial transactions has not kept pace. In other words, those USDT are likely just sitting on-chain as "parking spots," with insufficient liquidity and interaction depth. Without sustained trading and financial activity, the network itself struggles to generate enough cash flow to cover long-term security and development costs. This is the most pressing dilemma.

Currently, Plasma is also trying to find ways to break through. On one hand, it has already begun to go beyond merely serving as a foundational transfer protocol...