The stablecoin sector is entering a new phase of competition, with major players unveiling fresh initiatives to capture part of the $280 billion market.
On Sept. 22, PayPal, Bitfinex-backed Plasma, and Polkadot’s Hydration protocol announced new projects to strengthen the role of dollar-pegged assets in global finance.
Neobank, DeFi, and Payments
Plasma is positioning itself directly at the consumer level with Plasma One, a neobank designed for users who already transact in stablecoins but face barriers with existing tools.
The firm said its platform will simplify saving, spending, and earning in dollars, areas where crypto-native wallets and centralized exchanges have often left gaps.
According to the project, its rollout will prioritize regions with limited access to US dollars, highlighting stablecoins’ growing role in financial inclusion.
In contrast, Hydration targets the DeFi community with HOLLAR, an overcollateralized stablecoin backed by assets like DOT, ETH, and BTC. Its design includes a Stability Module that supports the peg, generates yield, and introduces partial liquidations to avoid the total wipeouts common in undercollateralized systems.
Hydration Founder Jakub Gregus argued that DeFi needs “better than half-baked experiments or centralized compromises.” According to him, this position HOLLAR as both a stable asset and a gateway into Hydration’s broader lending and trading ecosystem.
Meanwhile, financial giant PayPal continues to expand its payments footprint. Its venture capital arm has announced a strategic investment in Stable, a Bitfinex-backed blockchain, to extend its stablecoin, PYUSD, across Stablechain.
The move will allow permissionless peer-to-peer transfers and merchant payments. LayerZero interoperability would support this, making PYUSD usable across multiple networks.
PayPal framed the initiative as part of its effort to bring decades of payments expertise to digital money.
Regulatory backdrop
The competing approaches taken by stablecoin issuers come ahead of US regulators building a bespoke regualtory framework for the sector.
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act tasks the Treasury Department with developing rules to support payment innovation while addressing risks tied to financial stability and illicit finance.
Notably, the Treasury recently issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), inviting industry, consumer, and advocacy groups to provide input.
While not yet binding, the process illustrates Washington’s intention to create a regime tailored to stablecoins.
Market analysts have noted that these rules, once finalized, could accelerate adoption, with some estimates projecting the market could expand beyond $2 trillion.
Considering this, industry experts say that competition in the stablecoin sector will not be defined by technology alone but by which models can adapt most quickly to regulation.
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