When stablecoins start to "create their own chains," can Ethereum still sit on the throne?

In recent years, although stablecoins have been low-key, they have always been the core gear for the flow of funds in the crypto market. Now, this "unassuming protagonist" is undergoing a structural transformation—issuers are no longer satisfied with just "standing on-chain" but are starting to create their own chains. Circle has launched Arc, details released by Tempo led by Stripe, USDT's backing Stable, Bitcoin sidechain Plasma, and the convergence of RWA/DeFi with Converge are all entering the fray.

When stablecoins have mastered the "money path," can the discourse power of general public chains like Ethereum and Solana still be maintained?

What is a stablecoin public chain?

Unlike "universal" public chains like Ethereum and Solana, stablecoin public chains are closer to the settlement layer:

Stablecoins are like gas: the transaction fees are stable and predictable, without the need to hold volatile assets.

Payment and settlement priority: Optimize for high-frequency scenarios such as cross-border settlement, merchant acquiring, and payroll disbursement.

Built-in compliance module: facilitates connections with banks and payment institutions, reducing gray areas.

Design around capital flow: cross-coin settlement, foreign exchange matching, unified accounting unit.

This is a vertical integration model—controlling key links from issuance, clearing to application.

Different Paths of Five Representative Chains

Arc (Circle): USDC as Gas, settled within 1 second, enterprise-level privacy options.

Tempo (Stripe/Paradigm): Multi-stablecoin Gas, 100,000 TPS, sub-second confirmation, payment priority.

Stable (USDT): USDT native Gas, gas-free small transfers, interfacing with bank cards and merchant payments.

Plasma (BTC sidechains): BTC non-custodial cross-chain, USDT zero-fee transfers, EVM compatible.

Converge (RWA+DeFi): Block generation in hundreds of milliseconds, institutional-level security, supporting RWA asset integration.

Although the approaches are different, their common goal is to truly integrate stablecoins into the daily financial cycle.

How big is the threat to Ethereum?

Stablecoin chains are indeed more suitable than the ETH mainnet or Solana for high-frequency, low-risk businesses such as cross-border remittances and payroll disbursement, with a particularly direct impact on TRON (over 99% of USDT issued by TRON).

But the positioning of ETH/SOL is still secure:

Ethereum: Security + Composable Decentralized Finance ecosystem, an open innovative highland.

Solana: High performance + user experience, suitable for high-frequency applications and consumption scenarios.

The most likely pattern is: stablecoin chains undertake certain settlement, while ETH/SOL retains open innovation.

Is there still an opportunity for retail investors?

Although stablecoin public chains tend to focus on the B-side, there are still entry points:

Ecological incentives: bounties, trading mining, and developer subsidies during the cold start phase.

Node Staking: If Converge requires staking ENA to participate in verification.

Testnet Airdrop: Arc, Stable, Plasma, and Tempo testnets are all worth paying attention to.

Long-term allocation: Pay attention to stocks related to Circle, Coinbase, and other narratives.

Example: Plasma's July public sale of tokens $XPL was 7x oversubscribed, raising $373 million, and then partnered with Binance to airdrop and snapped up within an hour.

Conclusion

Stablecoin issuance will not overturn the market overnight, but they are rewriting the infrastructure landscape of encryption finance:

1. More certain settlement

2. More stable liquidity

3. The compliance interface is smoother.

When we shift our perspective from "coin price" to "how money flows," we will find that whoever can master settlement certainty, cross-coin liquidity, and real payment scenarios may become the next generation of infrastructure giants in the crypto finance.