Stable's USDT-Only Chain Hits $825M Liquidity Cap in 22 Minutes, Whale Deposits $500M

Stable, a newly launched blockchain purpose-built for USDT transfers, achieved an $825 million pre-deposit cap within just 22 minutes of opening its vault, marking one of the fastest liquidity events in the 2025 crypto cycle. On-chain analysis revealed that a single whale contributed over $500 million in USDT, accounting for more than 60% of the total inflow, with transactions occurring hours before the official launch.

The whale's involvement was highly leveraged; just prior to the deposit, 300,000 ETH was deposited on Aave to borrow 500 million USDT. Funding was traced to BTSE Exchange, indicating institutional orchestration rather than retail participation. This entity had previously participated in Plasma's liquidity campaign, suggesting a pattern of cycling liquidity between stablecoin-focused projects.

Backed by Bitfinex and Tether, Stable positions itself as a USDT-only chain aimed at reducing fees and optimizing large-scale transfers. USDT transfers on Ethereum currently burn over 29 ETH daily, costing roughly $23 million in smart contract fees, which Stable's architecture seeks to mitigate with near-zero transaction costs.

The pre-deposit campaign attracted strategic DeFi partners, including Frax Finance, Morpho Labs, ConcreteXYZ, Pendle, and LayerZero, which provided liquidity, yield optimization, and cross-chain routing. This collaboration mirrors practices used by networks like Base and Blast, bootstrapping liquidity through pre-deposit vaults and potential governance allocations for early participants.

Industry observers drew parallels with Plasma, another 2025 competitor that supports multiple stablecoins and launched with its XPL token. While Plasma emphasized broad marketing, Stable adopted a stealthier approach, focusing exclusively on USDT. Both ecosystems share overlapping liquidity providers, sparking speculation of cross-chain stablecoin arbitrage.

Despite the rapid success, critics noted that only 194 distinct wallets participated, highlighting centralized liquidity management rather than widespread community engagement. The deposit window closed before many retail users could interact, raising transparency concerns.