🟣 The
$XPL debate almost always comes down to the September 25 unlock.
So on our side, we decided to look at the data around Plasma One, the main driver behind XPL demand today.
Since its launch on June 17, the neobank has recorded:
▫️ 165,692 users with 58,257 activated accounts
▫️ $66.3M in cumulative card volume
▫️ +20.9% volume over 30 days, one of the strongest growth rates among crypto cards
This acceleration is partly driven by a wave of cashback offers on the app, with up to 20% on Dyson, among others. Enough to encourage daily use rather than remaining just another crypto card.
This adoption directly benefits XPL through the different tiers and the token lock.
To access the card's top tiers, you have to lock XPL, 100,000 ($9,500 at the current price) for the Platinum tier, for 12 months.
As a result, every premium user mechanically removes tokens from circulation. Today, that's:
▫️ 91.3M XPL locked, or 3.3% of the circulating supply (96% Platinum, 4% Core)
▫️ 880 Platinum wallets and 161 Core wallets
▫️ +36% growth in locked XPL over the past month
With no buyback in place, Plasma One is currently just about the only source of XPL demand beyond validator staking, which is still closed to the general public, and network fees that amount to a few cents today.
The more the card is adopted, the more it reduces the circulating supply.
One last point deserves attention: the cashback. Since launch,
@Plasma has distributed 18M XPL ($1.7M at the current price) through its cashback program.
Logically, this distribution is seen as additional selling pressure on the token. But in reality, two elements completely change the picture:
▫️ Only 58.8% of the distributed cashback is actually sold (41.2% is kept)
▫️ More importantly, this cashback doesn't come from new XPL emissions, but from tokens bought back by Plasma from investors, which directly reduces future unlocks.
The
$XPL launch sparked real euphoria in the middle of a bear market, but the token has since struggled to find any bullish momentum.
Tomorrow's unlocks are probably already priced in, but they could still weigh on sentiment and on the price, even with the token buybacks from investors.
As for Plasma One, it's still finding its footing and building real utility for the token. The neobank is only a first step in that direction, but it's probably the most promising one.