Every day, it seems like a new blockchain for stablecoins is introduced. This past week, Circle announced Arc, its proprietary settlement network, while Stripe revealed Tempo, developed in collaboration with Paradigm.

This aligns with a larger trend as numerous startups like Plasma and Stable are raising funds for dedicated chains for USDT, the major stablecoin. In addition, firms in the tokenization space, such as Securitize with Ethena and Ondo Finance, are forging ahead with their blockchain solutions.

Analysts suggest that the surge of stablecoins and tokenization could evolve into trillion-dollar asset classes, fundamentally altering cross-border payments and creating real-time trading environments for traditional financial instruments.

Why are companies building their own Layer-1 blockchains?
In a competitive context, new companies are striving for complete control over their settlement processes, reducing operational costs while embedding compliance measures directly into their infrastructures, as highlighted by Martin Burgherr of Sygnum.

The evolution of these ecosystems is pivotal, as firms create tailored blockchains to mitigate risks and maximize performance by minimizing reliance on external networks.

It remains uncertain how established Layer-1 networks will respond to these emerging players, but the pressure is expected to be most acute in segments tailored for high-throughput payments, like Solana, while Ethereum’s existing user base positions it favorably in the near future.