Stablecoin issuers and fintech companies are building their own payment-specific blockchains and settlement infrastructures, vying to control the settlement rails for stablecoin transactions. Projects backed by Circle, Plasma, and Stripe represent three distinct strategies for capturing fees, liquidity, and customer relationships in this market, with stablecoin settlement rails rapidly evolving into strategic assets.
According to Stripe's 2025 annual report, transaction volume for stablecoin payments has roughly doubled, reaching $400 billion. This growth has transformed settlement infrastructure from a background tool into a competitive asset worth owning.
"Companies want to capture more value by building or controlling the settlement layer," Ran Goldi summarized the logic behind this strategy in an interview with Cointelegraph.
Why Stablecoin Settlement Rails Are Becoming Strategic Infrastructure
Settlement rails are the underlying networks where stablecoin transactions are finalized. Companies operating these rails can influence transaction fees, set liquidity terms, and shape the economic relationship of every payment that passes through. As Cointelegraph reported, stablecoin issuers and fintech-related companies are launching payment-focused blockchains to specifically control this piece of settlement infrastructure. While the competitive landscape is still forming and no single company dominates, the pattern is evident across multiple firms.
Circle, Plasma, and Stripe's Different Paths to Control
Arc is designed to embed stablecoins into the core mechanics of the chain, rather than treating them as tokens layered on top. This approach allows Circle to directly influence exchange pricing, foreign exchange conversions, and the fee structure for every transaction on its network.
Plasma is taking a different route, announcing its mainnet beta launch for September 25, 2025, offering zero-fee USDt transfers through its dashboard. The project stated that on day one, $2 billion in stablecoins will be active on its network, distributed across over 100 decentralized finance (DeFi News) partners.
Plasma's mission is to become the foundation for global money movement, focusing on core use cases like payments, foreign exchange, card networks, and on/off ramps. The zero-fee model is its explicit competitive lever, potentially pressuring rivals that rely on per-transaction revenue.
Stripe, a dominant force in traditional payments, completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin orchestration platform Bridge in October 2024. The company revealed in its 2025 annual report that Tempo, co-built with Paradigm, is a blockchain designed specifically for payments, with its mainnet launch imminent.
Implications for Payments and Stablecoin Adoption
Each project targets the same economic opportunity from a different angle: capturing the value of the settlement layer at the intersection of payments, foreign exchange, and liquidity provision. Plasma's explicit focus on card networks and on/off ramps signals the potential of these new rails.