StableChain, which is a new layer-one blockchain network built around Tether’s USDT stablecoin by a company known as Stable, went live with its mainnet today, alongside the launch of its native STABLE token. This network runs transactions entirely in USDT, which is by far the largest stablecoin in the world, while the STABLE token is used for governance, staking, and validator incentives behind the scenes.
Backed by crypto exchange Bitfinex, PayPal, and many others, Stable aims to focus on the key area of crypto that has gained the most demand and interest from end users, namely stablecoins (in this case, USDT specifically). While much has been made about the endless number of cryptocurrencies that have been launched over the years, the reality is that the vast majority of the decentralized finance (DeFi) activity in the space is built around dollar-pegged tokens, most notably USDT and Circle’s USDC.
Stable Mainnet is now live.
Today marks a major step in the evolution of stablecoin payments: the launch of StableChain, the first USDT-native Layer 1 built for high-volume, predictable, real-world settlement.
The future of stablecoin payments begins now. pic.twitter.com/SgdlnztPrB
— Stable (@stable) December 8, 2025
Over the past decade, the crypto space has grown deeply dependent on these centralized stablecoins. The combined market cap of USDC and USDT alone now exceeds $250 billion, and the success of these tokens underscores a broader trend in crypto where asset issuers and fintechs build increasingly proprietary and centralized infrastructure and reject more decentralized base-layer protocols that have less relevance when so much centralization is found at other layers of the crypto technology stack anyway.
The idea with Stable is to embrace this reality of stablecoin dominance in crypto by building a blockchain that is purpose-built for these centrally issued, dollar-pegged tokens from the ground up.
Similarly, Circle rolled out its Arc blockchain for USDC earlier this year as a dedicated layer-one crypto network for stablecoin apps, using USDC for gas to bypass native crypto networks like Ethereum and Solana. Sony recently joined this wave too, along with countless other financial institutions and tech giants, with plans for a dollar-backed stablecoin for digital content payments. Many of these sorts of moves are intended to let centralized players capture value streams once thought to be promised to open, decentralized crypto protocols.
Heavy reliance on these issuer-controlled stablecoins has stripped much of crypto’s decentralization down to not much more than branding or marketing. At the end of the day, the increasingly common layers of centralization found in crypto are making the industry somewhat indistinguishable from traditional fintech. For example, U.S. Bank recently highlighted the appeal of the Stellar network’s asset clawback features for its own stablecoin pilot project. These are the exact sort of third-party controls Bitcoin was originally intended to route around.
Indeed, what started as a push for an ostensibly borderless, intermediary-free finance now bolsters U.S. dollar hegemony through pegged tokens while fintech giants erect walled gardens to increase their profits and user activity metrics. This path clearly diverges sharply from Bitcoin’s roots. In Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 whitepaper and other early writings, the vision centered on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that eliminated trusted third parties: no inflation at will, no transaction blocks, no asset grabs.
Launches like Stable, Arc, and Coinbase’s Base blockchain reveal how the industry has pivoted toward efficiency over sovereignty to the point where the line between crypto and fintech is becoming increasingly blurred. Due to the longstanding reliance alternative crypto networks like Ethereum have had on stablecoins and other key points of centralization, it’s unclear what their value propositions will be if the likes of Tether, Circle, Coinbase, and other major, centralized players in the crypto space can push users over to their own proprietary platforms.
That said, there are some who are sounding the alarm regarding this crisis of purpose in crypto, as indicated by the controversy regarding an Ethereum Foundation researcher’s exit for fintech giant Stripe’s stablecoin play.
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