On February 4, 2026, at 2:41 AM Tokyo time, the BTC price is still fluctuating in the low transaction volume range of 79.8k–81.2k. Glassnode's real-time data (updated on February 3) shows that LTH (long-term holders) have net outflows of about 48,000 coins in the past 7 days. The proportion of holdings in HODL Waves for more than 1 year has slightly decreased from 96.8% to 96.1%. SOPR remains in the range of 1.04–1.06, indicating that selling is mainly for profit-taking rather than panic liquidation. ETF inflows for the week are only $1.2 billion (according to CoinShares' latest report), with strong de-risk sentiment among institutions. US stock market volatility is present, and the Federal Reserve's February interest rate decision remains neutral, with macro pressures still ongoing. The altcoin situation is even worse, with most projects experiencing a TVL decrease of over 30%, and prices continue to decline.
In late 2025, I heavily invested in meme stocks (WIF, BONK, PEPE, FLOKI, etc.), and relied on community FOMO and KOL recommendations to drive up the price by 3-8 times. However, when the market corrected, the price plummeted by 80%-95%, liquidity dried up, and the community went from being bustling with activity to complete silence, leaving only those who bought at the peak. The essence of speculative trading was exposed: without real demand, the price quickly went to zero once the hype died down, causing my mentality to collapse. I'm currently holding onto my main BTC position (never selling my principal), but the months in the middle of the bear market have been too agonizing, and I need to find some "zero-risk + real-value" side hustles to buffer the losses.
While browsing Binance Square, the Plasma (XPL) Creator Challenge popped up. The event ended on February 12th, with a reward pool of 3.5 million XPL (half globally and half in the Chinese region). The new rules completely shifted towards high-quality content and community interaction (purely promotional posts/copy-and-paste basically get 0 points, while in-depth original content + data testing + high interaction have the highest weight). I started participating around January 20th, and in 15 days my points skyrocketed from 0 to the top 160 in the Chinese region (around the top 650 globally), with a highest single-article score of 92 (the one with transaction screenshots + on-chain Dune data + personal reflections). The XPL I earned has already covered my small living expenses in Kanda Nishikicho. The more I wrote, the more engrossed I became. It's not just about profiting from the hype; I genuinely believe that Plasma is a severely undervalued and practical infrastructure in 2026.
I. Meme vs Plasma: Why did I completely shift from emotional games to the practical payment track?
The core logic of meme coins is: community sentiment + narrative + animal/emoji/KOL-driven hype. The advantage is its explosive potential (a single tweet can increase prices dozens of times), but the disadvantage is zero fundamentals, zero cash flow, and zero practical use; once the initial hype fades, it collapses. I personally experienced this in 2025: WIF surged from $0.4 to $4 and then back to $0.8; BONK was similar—all the profits were wiped out, and I even lost money on transaction fees. My mindset went from excitement to numbness.
Plasma is the complete opposite: an L1 chain designed specifically for stablecoin payment infrastructure. Its core selling point is a protocol-level paymaster + custom gas token mechanism, enabling truly zero-fee USDT/USDC transfers (users don't need to hold XPL for gas payments; protocol subsidies are easily transferred daily), with complex DeFi operations consuming only a small amount of XPL. It's 100% EVM compatible (opcode-level alignment), allowing for mass migration of mature Ethereum ecosystem protocols (Uniswap, Aave, Curve, etc.) with almost zero modifications. Consensus uses PlasmaBFT (sub-second finality, with a tested stable TPS of 1200–1800), data availability is combined with Bitcoin pegging and off-chain optimization, and security is inherited at the main chain level.
I conducted over 50 mainnet interactions (bridging USDT → batch small-amount transfers → simulating cross-border/tipping scenarios):
• 30 USDT transfers (each ranging from $10 to $100) will incur a total fee of $0.0012 (almost negligible).
• The average delay is 1.6 seconds, and confirmation is final; there is no need to wait for the challenge period.
• Compared to Solana's peak gas costs (sometimes 0.02–0.05 SOL ≈ 3–7 dollars), Arbitrum/Optimism bridging friction + gas anxiety, Plasma offers a significantly superior experience.
• Suitable scenarios: cross-border remittances (fee pain point), on-chain salary payment, content creator tipping, GameFi microtransactions, daily P2P payments - these are all real needs worth trillions, not just meme's "storytelling".
II. On-chain data breakdown: Why is it said that Plasma did not crash, but was just wrongly targeted?
Latest data (Dune/DefiLlama/Official explorer, February 3–4):
• TVL is stable in the range of $3.2B–$3.8B (stablecoins dominate, USDT accounts for 87%+, and Bridged+Native funds are flowing in healthily).
• Active addresses increased by 28% month-on-month, with new addresses accounting for approximately 35% (not indicative of fraudulent activity).
• Daily average DEX volume $8M–$15M, with a portion of the revenue from sequencing fees used to buy back/burn $XPL, thus implementing a deflationary mechanism.
• Price: $0.093–$0.096 (24h -5.8%), Market Cap: ≈$185M, Circulating Supply: 19%, FDV: ≈$980M. A drop of over 94% from ATH $1.68, but on-chain usage hasn't collapsed, a typical case of a bear market mispricing.
Compared to other stablecoins/payment chains: TRON is centralized and controversial; Base/Arbitrum suffer from fragmentation due to gas fees; Plasma focuses on "zero fees + instant payment + inherited BTC security," leading in practicality and resilience. If stablecoin payments become mainstream in 2026 (with accelerated institutional/cross-border adoption), the value capture logic for $XPL is clear.
III. Creator Task 15-Day Ranking Sprint Tips: How to Avoid Pitfalls and Achieve High Scores
• Content Strategy: Short articles address pain points + personal testimonials ("My real experience switching to Plasma zero-fee payments after leaving meme"); Long articles must include data screenshots (Dune TVL, transfer records, candlestick charts), in-depth comparisons (meme vs. Practical Chain), and open questions to encourage interaction.
• Avoid pitfalls: Don't just shout "moon" or "100 times," the platform's algorithm now dislikes that; add more screenshots of your own bridging/transfer, and make connections to Tokyo life scenarios (pain points of cross-border payments) to maximize the sense of realism.
• Rhythm: 1 long post + 1–2 short posts per day, less competition in the global posting area; end with a question + call for comments and likes, interaction points will be doubled.
• My blood and tears: I was only in the top 500 for the first 5 days, but after adding test records and reflection, I improved my ranking by 150+ places per day.
IV. Risk Disclosure + My Operational Strategy
Risks: Continued downward trend in the bear market, selling pressure from July/September unlocking, and intensified competition (Circle, Ripple, and others are also vying for payment services). However, current price levels have already factored in most of the risks, and the essential need for payments remains a constant theme.
My approach: Main position: BTC HODL (no change); Secondary position: Small amount of $XPL (earn +0.09-0.10 in batches through tasks), aiming to be among the top 100 to capture the biggest profits. This is not a trading recommendation; early-stage projects are highly volatile, so I will conduct my own testing and monitor the data before making any decisions.
What about you guys? How did you adjust after the meme crash? Did Plasma's zero-fee payment hit a nerve? Those of you who are trying to complete tasks, share your high-score secrets! Let's battle it out in the comments section; your reflections might be the inspiration for the next viral hit!
