To be honest, the crypto market feels icy right now. When prices fall hard, timelines get flooded with liquidation talk. I see it as a revealing phase. These downturns show clearly who was overexposed and who was quietly laying foundations that actually last.
If you still see Plasma as a project recycling an old Ethereum narrative, that view is outdated. The landscape has moved on, and Plasma has moved with it.
Over the past two weeks, Plasma made a meaningful step by integrating NEAR Intents. Ignore the technical label. In practical terms, this links Plasma’s USDT0 to liquidity across 25 chains and 125 assets. Transfers on Plasma are no longer isolated actions. They plug straight into network wide liquidity, not a closed system.
The Paymaster feature is even more important. New users struggle with stablecoin transfers because they must first buy gas tokens. On some networks, like TRON, you need to hold TRX just to move USDT. That friction turns people away fast. Plasma removes this hurdle. Fees can be paid directly in USDT, and in some cases the foundation even covers them. This kind of near gas free experience actually works for users outside the crypto bubble.
My personal view. This market drop also pushed XPL lower. But look at the Aave v3 numbers. Plasma’s borrowing utilization keeps ranking near the top across the entire ecosystem, sometimes second only to Ethereum mainnet.
What does that tell us. Large holders are not panicking. Instead of exiting, they are parking capital in Plasma and earning stablecoin yield through the downturn. That behavior reflects real conviction. After repeated market shocks, capital naturally moves toward places that feel safer and more efficient.
