This week, I’ve been watching the price of $XPL , which has been stuck around $0.12
Many friends in the group are complaining: "With so many positive factors in the ecosystem, why isn't the coin price rising?"
Actually, the logic is quite simple: it’s because its internal strength has been honed too harshly, scaring everyone off, but the 'external strength' has yet to be unleashed.
Let me break down the current situation of @Plasma from a different angle.
Its current strategy is extreme internal competition.
On-chain, it has no rivals left. Ethena provides limits, Aave provides the market, and USDT provides liquidity. It has maximized the efficiency of 'funds remaining and appreciating'. Once funds come in, they don't want to leave, as there’s no other place outside that is as smooth and offers such high interest.
This has led to one result: Plasma has become a massive black hole for funds.
But this is only one side of the coin.
The other side is that it attempts to use this extreme internal efficiency to force changes in the external world.
Look at its actions of integrating Rain cards and Holyheld, they are actually very aggressive.
It is betting on a logic: when the cost of funds on-chain is low enough and the turnover is fast enough, real-world merchants will be forced to integrate due to 'greed'.
This is not about begging merchants to use it, but using profit differences to tempt them.
If using Visa for payments incurs a 3% fee, using Plasma incurs 0 wear and can generate interest instantly; any rational merchant will ultimately lean towards the more efficient side.
But this takes time.
The current deadlock lies in the fact that the ammunition on-chain (DeFi depth) is fully stocked, but the targets off-chain (compliant payment scenarios) are still not numerous enough.
This is a tug-of-war between a perfect model and a chaotic reality.
I am optimistic about it, not because it is making a lot of money now, but because it is doing the difficult yet correct thing.
Most L1s are catering to users' gambling tendencies (issuing memes), only Plasma is catering to the nature of capital (pursuing efficiency).
If this forcing logic works by 2026, it will no longer be a public chain; it will be the only wormhole connecting two parallel universes.
At this position, don't rush to look at price fluctuations.
Understanding this logic of 'internal competition forcing external change' will allow you to hold on tight.
