Analysis from Delphi Digital shows stablecoin issuers and fintech-linked firms are building payment-focused blockchains to capture the settlement infrastructure for US dollar stablecoin transfers. Rather than creating general-purpose layer-1s for broad token issuance and smart contracts, these new networks are optimized specifically for institutional payment flows and high-throughput stablecoin settlement.
Notable examples include Tether-backed Plasma, a public layer-1 tuned for cross-border USDT transactions that launched on mainnet on Sept. 25, 2025 after a $24 million raise in February. A month later, Circle published a public testnet for Arc, which it positions as an open L1 purpose-built for stablecoin finance. Delphi Digital interprets these launches as a structural shift toward payment-centric chains as firms compete to control settlement rails — one of crypto’s clearest real-world use cases.
Owning those rails matters strategically, Ran Goldi, senior vice president of payments and network at custody platform Fireblocks, told Cointelegraph. Companies prefer controlling the settlement layer rather than relying on external ecosystems such as Ethereum and paying ongoing fees. For payment firms, the move also reduces reliance on third parties for stablecoin mint-and-burn operations and avoids related operational ‘taxes.’
Fintechs have entered the race as well. Tempo says its mainnet is live and markets itself as a merchant-focused settlement layer for high-throughput stablecoin transactions; the project is incubated by Paradigm and Stripe. Delphi Digital noted Stripe’s acquisitions that position it to influence issuance, wallets and billing around stablecoin payments: Bridge (stablecoin infrastructure) in October 2024 for $1.1 billion, wallet infrastructure provider Privy in June 2025, and billing platform Metronome in January 2026.
Industry figures describe control of payment rails as creating a new ‘revenue layer.’ Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, said that as protocol-level settlement costs fall, value capture moves to the orchestration layer surrounding the rail: compliance, FX conversion, wallet infrastructure, on- and off-ramps, local payout connectivity and merchant integration. Firms that control end-to-end payment workflows can collect fees at multiple touchpoints.
Irina Chuchkina, chief growth officer of Wallet in Telegram, called stablecoin payment rails a likely defining revenue driver of the cycle, comparing the opportunity to how Visa and Mastercard became indispensable by owning payments pipes rather than issuing currency. She added that settlement rails interoperable with agentic artificial intelligence could seize a disproportionate share of the value flowing through these networks.
Taken together, these developments signal a competitive push to internalize settlement — both to reduce costs and to open new monetization opportunities around compliance, FX and merchant services. As firms roll out specialized L1s and payment layers, the battle for control of stablecoin rails may shape how real-world crypto payments scale and who captures the largest share of revenue.
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