🔽
Most people think partnerships are just fancy logos on a website. I used to think that too. Then I looked at the numbers behind @plasma's DeFi integrations, and honestly, it changed how I see ecosystem value.
Here is the thing. When Aave or Ethena integrates with a chain, they are not doing charity work. They bring billions in liquidity. And that liquidity creates direct pressure on the native token price.
Let me break down exactly how these partnerships pump
$XPL value.
👍THE AAVE EFFECT: $3.7B LOCKED MEANS DEMAND FOR GAS
Aave launched on Plasma in November 2025. Within weeks, it became one of the fastest growing Aave markets ever. We are talking $3.7 billion TVL just in lending and borrowing.
Here is why this matters for token price:
Every single transaction on Aave requires gas. Borrowing USDT, supplying collateral, liquidations, interest claims. All of it burns
$XPL as gas fees. Even though USDT transfers are free (thanks to the paymaster system), complex smart contract interactions still require native tokens.
More activity =more gas demand = more buying pressure on
$XPL .
But there is a second layer most people miss. Aave users stake tokens to reduce liquidation risk. When you have $100K in borrowed USDT, you want insurance. You stake
$XPL . That removes supply from circulation. Basic supply-demand economics.
Binance even launched an Aave x Plasma USDT product offering up to 7% APR. That is institutional money flowing in, not retail degenerates like us.
🚀ETHENA: THE REAL YIELD MONSTER
Ethena is the synthetic dollar protocol. They launched USDe (their stablecoin) and sUSDe (the staked version) on Plasma with $1 billion capacity.
Why does Ethena care about Plasma? Simple. Zero-fee transfers make USDe the perfect medium for high frequency arbitrage and delta-neutral strategies. Traders can move millions without bleeding fees.
Here is the token economics loop
Ethena deposits billions in USDe liquidity.Traders use Plasma for arb strategies (because fees = zero).High transaction volume increases network usage.Validators earn more fees, making staking
$XPL more profitable.Higher staking APY attracts more capital into
$XPL .
It is a flywheel. The more DeFi protocols launch, the more valuable holding
$XPL becomes, even if you are not actively trading.
⭐FLUID, EULER, CHAINLINK: THE ECOSYSTEM STACK
Fluid and Euler are money markets. They compete with Aave but use different risk models. More competition = better rates for users = more people using Plasma for yield farming.
Chainlink is the oracle. Every price feed, every liquidation trigger, every collateral check runs through Chainlink oracles. This is n0t optional. Without oracles, DeFi is blind.
The fact that Chainlink integrated early tells me one thing. They see long-term demand here. Chainlink does not waste resources on ghost chains.
👌THE NEAR INTENTS INTEGRATION (JANUARY 2026)
This one is fresh. NEAR Protocol just integrated their Intents system with Plasma. What does that mean in normal language?
Intents let you say "I want to swap 10,000 USDT for ETH at the best price" and solvers compete to fill your order across multiple chains. Plasma becomes a liquidity hub for cross-chain swaps.
More liquidity routing through Plasma = more fees captured = more value accruing to XPL holders.
This is not some coming soon announcement. It went live in January. I tested it myself. Works.
💥WHY PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTLY IMPACT MARKET CAP
Let me connect the dots with simple math.
Current State:
Plasma TVL: $6.8 billionMarket Cap: $188 millionP/TVL ratio: 0.027x
Competitor Comparison:
Arbitrum P/TVL: 0.29x (10x higher)Optimism P/TVL: 0.47x (17x higher)
If Plasma partnerships continue growing TVL and the P/TVL ratio normalizes to just 0.15x (still below competitors), that implies:
Market Cap = $6.8B × 0.15 = $1.02 billion
That is a 5.4x from current levels. And that assumes TVL stays flat, which it won't if partnerships keep expanding.
👉THE HIDDEN VALUE: PROTOCOL FEES AND BUYBACKS
Here is something most people do not realize. Plasma uses an EIP-1559 style fee burn. A portion of gas fees gets burned forever.
As DeFi activity increases:
More transactions = more fees collectedMore fees = more XPL burnedReduced supply = price goes up (if demand stays constant)
The Aave integration alone generates thousands of transactions daily. Multiply that across Ethena, Fluid, Euler, and future protocols. The burn rate compounds.
This is not hopium. This is tokenomics working as designed.
👉MY PARTNERSHIP WATCHLIST
Here are the integrations I am tracking for the next catalyst
1. Uniswap V4 Hooks If Uniswap launches custom hooks on Plasma (rumored), liquidity will explode. Uniswap is the king of DEXs.
2. Lido or Rocket Pool: If liquid staking protocols launch XPL staking derivatives, it unlocks DeFi composability. You stake
$XPL , get stXPL, and use that as collateral elsewhere.
3. GMX or Gains Network - Perp DEXs need fast settlement and low fees. Plasma is perfect for that.
If even one of these happens, we are looking at another TVL surge.
👀WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW
Here is my playbook based on partnerships:
Watching Aave TVL growth weekly. If it hits $5B, I add to my XPL bag.XPLTracking Ethena USDe capacity utilization. If they expand beyond $1B, that is bullish.Checking DefiLlama daily active users on Plasma. Growth = sticky ecosystem.Setting alerts for new partnership announcements from
@Plasma .
Partnerships are not just press releases. They are the engine that drives token value. The data is public. The math checks out.
Which partnership do you think will move the needle most? Aave, Ethena, or something else?
#Write2Earn #Plasma #defi #AAVE #USDT