Bitfinex-backed Plasma announced a strategic partnership with EtherFi on Aug. 29, positioning the stablecoin-focused neobank as a day-one launch partner for the blockchain’s mainnet beta.

EtherFi will transfer over $500 million from its Ethereum (ETH) staking vault to Plasma’s platform, providing liquidity for stablecoin-backed yield strategies.

The collaboration integrates EtherFi across Plasma’s DeFi ecosystem, providing users with additional collateral options for lending and borrowing while offering access to ETH-backed yield products.

Plasma’s announcement emphasized how the partnership complements both platforms’ objectives in the stablecoin infrastructure space. The protocol stated:

“Stablecoins give everyone, everywhere permissionless access to the financial service of saving money safely and reliably.”

EtherFi is the sixth-largest DeFi protocol, with a total value locked of over $11 billion as of Aug. 29. The protocol reached an all-time high of nearly $12.6 billion on Aug. 14.

Stablecoin-focused infrastructure

Plasma operates as a Bitcoin sidechain with full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, engineered specifically for stablecoin payments and cross-border transactions.

The platform offers zero-fee USDT transfers through a dual-validator architecture that processes gasless transactions.

Recent market activity demonstrates significant institutional interest in Plasma’s approach. The platform raised $1 billion in deposits within 30 minutes during its June expansion, with 70% of funds concentrated among the top 100 wallets according to analytics firm Sealaunch.