Brothers, I am a typical Hong Kong worker, working from 9 AM to 11 PM, decompressing by scrolling through social media on the MTR. My salary barely covers the mortgage and taking care of my cat, and my investment mindset is super conservative. BTC has fallen from last year's peak, and I'm holding my main position tightly, too afraid to move, and I dare not heavily invest in altcoins. With the market at the beginning of 2026, BTC is hovering around $80,000, and XPL has been cut in half from its ATH of $1.68, now fluctuating in the range of $0.10-$0.103 (CoinMarketCap real-time data, with a 24h volume of about $60-70 million, and a decline controlled within 3-5%). Looking at the candlestick chart makes me want to vomit, but I can't bear to liquidate my position—because I am genuinely using this chain.
First, let me explain why I haven't run away: it's not about faith, it's about practicality to the bone. Plasma positions stablecoin payments on L1, with the core selling point being zero-fee USDT transfers + customizable gas (paying directly with USDT/BTC). I tested these scenarios last week:
• Transferring USDT to family in mainland: Traditional chain gas fees + bridge fees at least several dollars, here <0.01 dollars, arrives in 1.5 seconds, family says "faster than WeChat."
• Daily small tips to creators in the square: Previously, fees on other chains ate up half, now I pay directly in USDT, zero-feel payment.
• Earning yield by providing liquidity on-chain: USDT-USDC pool, annualized 10-15% floating (depending on depth), all operations with zero gas fees, no pain in frequent adjustments.
These aren’t just hype from the white paper; I use my mobile wallet every day, and the active addresses on Dune are still climbing (month-on-month increase of 30%+), the proportion of new addresses is healthy, although TVL hasn’t exploded, it’s growing by 10-15% weekly, with funding coming from many native BTC addresses, not a false volume illusion. Compared to meme or purely narrative coins, this project at least has scenarios where you can "use it every day," and the cross-border demand from Hong Kong people is significant, which resonates with me.
Why has the price dropped like this? To be honest:
• Overall altcoin correction, BTC did not lead the rise.
• The circulation is only about 20%, but there are small quarterly unlocks (DropsTab shows 88M XPL on February 25, about 0.89% of total supply, pressure is controllable).
• Early speculation drove prices too high, now it’s squeezing the bubble, RSI on the daily is close to 40, neutral to weak, but there are no signs of panic selling.
My struggle: At the beginning of January when it was 0.12 dollars, I wanted to add, but my wife scolded me for "gambling again," later it dropped to a low of 0.099, I couldn’t help but increase my position from a small amount (a few hundred dollars of idle money) to a medium position (total investment 8%), buying in batches at lower prices. Now I'm at a floating loss but use on-chain transfers and tasks to earn points every day; my mindset is actually stable—I feel good using it, so I’m not anxious, treating the floating loss as tuition.
I started participating in Binance square creator tasks from mid-January, now ranking around the top 800 globally (higher competition in the Chinese sector, top 300 has a high barrier). Insights:
• After the new regulations, in-depth articles + real screenshots have exploded: Each of my articles includes transfer records, Dune TVL charts, personal gas savings comparisons, and platforms push those with high interaction.
• Every day 1-2 articles: one long article dissecting payment experiences, and one short article asking everyone, "Have you ever made a transfer using Plasma?" Ending with a question to spark comments.
• Even with zero followers, you can push through: I went from 0 to 500+ likes relying on authenticity, don’t just shout signals, writing grounded content like "Hong Kong cross-border usage is great" resonates easily.
I’m clear on the risks: Early L1 has execution risks, unlocking + weak overall market might explore 0.09 again; but compared to pure air projects, Plasma is at least iterating (official updates are pragmatic, no big promises). Hong Kong people are most afraid of "capital preservation first;" my position is small, I can stop loss at any time, with my main job salary + tasks XPL as a side income buffer.
Conclusion: Is XPL at 0.10 dollars the floor or will it continue to grind? It's hard to say. But for someone like me who is just working, the value of Plasma has shifted from "speculating on price increases" to "everyday tool + small guaranteed income." If you also make cross-border transfers, hate gas fees, and want to take on zero risk tasks, I suggest you first bridge some USDT for payment trials, don’t just look at the price. Decide whether to increase your position after trying it out. Welcome to battle in the comments: what is your current position? How is the Plasma transfer experience? Maybe your real story will inspire my next piece~
