Points of Focus  

• StableChain mainnet went live on December 8 with USDT gas and STABLE token.  
• $2B pre-deposits from 24K wallets and 100B STABLE fixed supply for governance.  
• Stable Foundation launches to manage grants and will rival Plasma’s incentive model.

Bitfinex-backed Layer 1 blockchain StableChain activated its mainnet on December 8, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. UTC, introducing the STABLE governance token and the independent Stable Foundation to oversee ecosystem growth, following a pre-deposit campaign that locked up more than $2 billion from over 24,000 wallets.

StableChain, an EVM-compatible network designed for high-volume stablecoin payments, uses Tether’s USDT as its gas token for all transactions, while the fixed-supply STABLE token handles staking, governance, and rewards under a delegated proof-of-stake model called StableBFT. Advisors, including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, are positioning the chain as a dedicated rail for USDT settlements in remittances and DeFi.

Stable CEO Brian Mehler said in a statement, “We are at the heart of a financial revolution that will fundamentally change how digital payments are made and received globally, unlocking a true on-chain economy for individuals and enterprises alike. The launch of the Stable Foundation and the STABLE token opens the door for investors across every sector to join our community and help build stablecoin payment rails worldwide.”

The Stable Foundation, now independent from iFinex (Bitfinex’s parent), will manage grants and protocol upgrades, with 40% of STABLE allocated to ecosystem development over four years. 

StableChain’s mainnet activation follows a pre-deposit campaign that attracted more than $2 billion from over 24,000 wallets in two phases, the project said.

Excited to announce that Phase 2 of the ecosystem-led Pre-Deposit Campaign is launching next week.

Here's what to expect:

• 24-hour countdown
• Fixed total deposit cap
• Per-wallet deposit limits
• Individual wallet requirements

Check back here for more information.

— Stable (@stable) October 29, 2025

Bitfinex-backed rival, Plasma

The launch comes after a $28 million seed round led by Bitfinex and Hack VC, with strategic advisors playing a part. Bitfinex also separately backed rival Plasma with a $3.5 million round in October 2024 for its own USDT-native sidechain. The Bitfinex seed round was also joined by repeat investor Christian Angermayer and venture firms Split Capital, Anthos Capital, Karatage, and Manifold Trading. Tether and Bitfinex CEO Paolo Ardoino also participated as an individual backer. Plasma founder Paul Faecks said at the time that the project is built on a simple premise. “Bitcoin itself isn’t going to change.” He expressed little enthusiasm for ongoing efforts to add native smart-contract capabilities to Bitcoin, such as OP CAT or covenants. 

“We designed Plasma assuming Bitcoin Core will stay as-is,” Faecks said. “Our goal is to enable powerful, USD-denominated payment flows that ultimately settle back onto Bitcoin without requiring protocol-level changes.”

1/ We've raised $28M in seed round funding led by Bitfinex and Hack VC to launch @Stable — the first dedicated Layer 1 stablechain optimized for USDT payments. pic.twitter.com/NT4vrzy10I

— Stable (@stable) July 31, 2025

Stable has also secured partnerships with institutional players, including Anchorage Digital for custody, PayPal for payments integration, and Standard Chartered’s Libeara tokenization unit.

CEO Brian Mehler also stressed the importance of inclusivity: “It’s critical that this isn’t just an institutional play. The broader DeFi community must have the chance to participate and help shape the on-chain payments future we’re building.”