Thiel-backed Plasma debuts stablecoin neobank with Visa card and XPL rewards

Peter Thiel-backed crypto banking startup Plasma has unveiled Plasma One, a stablecoin-focused neobank that combines blockchain infrastructure, payments and consumer banking services into a single application.

The launch helped push $XPL up about 20%, but the asset is still approximately 94% below its all-time high set in September 2025, per CoinGecko.

Built on the Plasma Network, the company’s custom blockchain, Plasma One allows users to deposit stablecoins or fiat currencies, send cross-border transfers without fees, earn yield on balances and spend funds using a digital Visa card.

The company said stablecoin adoption has been slowed by fragmented infrastructure that separates wallets, exchanges and payment services. Plasma One aims to address that issue by combining blockchain rails, liquidity, payments and user-facing banking services under one platform.

“Stablecoins will not become part of everyday banking through another app sitting on top of someone else’s rails. They need a product that brings the entire experience together. That’s what Plasma One is built to do,” Plasma founder Paul Faecks commented on the launch.

Users can access cashback rewards through the platform’s $XPL token program, while higher-tier memberships include benefits such as ChatGPT Go and Claude Pro subscriptions, according to the team. Plasma said card payments are supported in more than 180 countries.

“Global stablecoin supply has roughly doubled in the last two years, but supply isn’t adoption. Adoption is when someone can download Plasma One, onboard in minutes, and start using digital dollars without thinking about blockchains, wallets, or banking rails – paying for lunch, sending money globally in seconds, or earning yield on savings,” Zaheer Ebtikar, Plasma’s chief strategy officer at Plasma, said.

Plasma said the platform attracted 5,000 weekly active users during its private beta and will continue expanding its capabilities for consumers and businesses in the coming months.

Plasma closed a $373 million token sale last July with backing from Founders Fund, the venture firm founded by Peter Thiel, Framework Ventures, Bitfinex, and other digital asset investors.

The stablecoin infrastructure project operates as a Bitcoin-based, EVM-compatible layer 1 focused on enabling low-cost or fee-free stablecoin transactions, targeting competition in the global stablecoin settlement market.