Peter Vessenes

Stablecoins have emerged as one of crypto’s most critical use cases, redefining global money movement by enabling near-instant, low-cost, 24/7 global, and permissionless payments while providing access to leading fiat currencies like the US dollar. ‍ Yet, the stablecoin market faces one major obstacle: legacy blockchains limit the rate of adoption. Most blockchains were designed long before stablecoins gained traction—or even existed. Today, stablecoins have over $220 billion in supply, and trillions of dollars are transferred monthly. However, this activity currently settles on blockchains with obstacles like high transaction fees, centralization issues, high transaction failure rates, and a lack of specialized features that are required to support stablecoins from first principles. Plasma has been built to solve all of these challenges. ‍ Plasma, founded by Paul F. and myself, is the purpose-built blockchain that will drive global stablecoin adoption to the next level and unlock trillions of dollars onchain. Engineered from the ground up to address the unique needs of stablecoins, Plasma provides a scalable, efficient, and secure foundation for the next generation of money movement. We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve raised $24M across our Seed and Series A, led by Framework Ventures and Bitfinex/USD₮0. Other participants include global leaders in the stablecoin and payments industry — DRW/Cumberland, Bybit, Flow Traders, 6th Man Ventures, IMC, Nomura, Karatage — as well as industry-leading angels and advisors including Paolo Ardoino, Peter Thiel, Cobie, and Zaheer Ebtikar. Read more here: ‍https://lnkd.in/eJ6pePhq

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Don't miss out on our latest research deep-dive by Robert Le, Head of Research Kiln 🚀 The Uprising of Vaults & the Road to Institutional-Grade DeFi: 🔸 Curated vaults have surged 28x in the past year — from <$150M to $4.4B in TVL — reflecting rising institutional demand. 🔸 RWAs like tokenized Treasuries and trade receivables now account for ~20% of DeFi TVL. 🔸 Morpho-powered vaults are scaling fast, with billions in deposits and real-time settlement. Apollo’s Acred vault (16% APY) and Coinbase’s credit flows are leading the way. 🔸 The future? A path to $500B in vault TVL by 2030, fueled by ERC-4626 rails, AI allocation, new credit standards (ERC-7540), and relentless innovation. 📘 Read the insights: https://lnkd.in/ewdn2m3q 📥 Get the full report: https://lnkd.in/emidPRKh

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AI Agents Tokenomics that actually work:) 98% of crypto projects have tokenomics designed by people who've never built a marketplace. BRUTAL TRUTH: Your governance token won't save bad unit economics. Your utility token won't fix poor network effects. But when agent economies meet properly designed crypto incentives? Network effects compound exponentially. We're breaking down the token mechanics that create sustainable autonomous agent networks. Real economics, not PowerPoint economics. → Download the tokenomics framework that VCs actually understand https://lnkd.in/gGJy69ae

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What started as a niche collaboration turned into one of our most effective DeFi deployments. Together with GoGoPool and Ava Labs, we launched GG AVAX on Folks Finance and the results spoke fast: → 51,000+ AVAX deployed → Highest AVAX yield in the industry → Enhanced Avalanche decentralization Why it worked: We didn’t just list a token, we co-designed the strategy. ✓ Co-incentivized lending pool ✓ Multi-pool tech behind the scenes ✓ Smart incentives aligned across partners And the game-changer? We rolled out AVAX Efficiency Loans, a lending model that boosts LTV for users looping GG AVAX. Now users can mint, deploy, borrow, and loop, all while increasing yield and supporting network decentralization. A great reminder: in DeFi, the right partner can unlock real innovation.

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LAST 2 WEEKS IN THE STABLECOIN SPACE: key events in September so far + top 5 highlights here below ↓ ↓ > Stripe and Paradigm Launch Tempo Blockchain Stripe, partnering with Paradigm, introduced Tempo, a blockchain designed for stablecoin-based cross-border payments. This move integrates stablecoins into mainstream fintech, targeting global remittances and signaling institutional adoption of stablecoin infrastructure. > Tether.io Explores Gold Mining Investments Tether (USDT, ~$169B market cap) pursued investments in gold mining and expanded its stake in a Canadian gold royalty firm. This diversifies its reserves beyond U.S. Treasuries, strengthening USDT’s backing and reflecting stablecoins’ growing link to tangible assets. > Tether.io Launches USAT Stablecoin Tether unveiled USAT, a USD-pegged stablecoin compliant with the U.S. GENIUS Act, and appointed Bo Hines as CEO of Tether USA₮. This positions Tether to expand its dominance in the U.S. market, leveraging regulatory clarity and a $277.8B stablecoin market. > Hyperliquid Launched USDH Stablecoin Bidding Hyperliquid initiated a governance vote for its native USDH stablecoin, attracting bids from Paxos, Frax, Sky Protocol, Agora, Native Markets, OpenEden, and BitGo. Voting ended September 14, with a winning from Native Markets. > MetaMask Launches mUSD Stablecoin MetaMask launched mUSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin integrated into its wallet via Transak, enabling low-fee in-app purchases and transfers for DeFi and retail users. This enhances accessibility and capitalizes on the GENIUS Act’s regulatory framework. Full breakdown in the report here below. As always, LOTS happened, LOTS coming - I'll do my best to keep you posted. — ❇️ Share it if you find it valuable, comment with your thoughts and follow to keep learning about stablecoins and the future of e-money.

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