Inside the 90 Seconds That Shook Crypto: Paul Faecks on Plasma, Stablecoins, and the Future of Money

In this episode of When Shift Happens, I sit down with Paul Faecks, the founder and CEO of Plasma, to discuss the trillion-dollar stablecoin opportunity, the terrifying 90 seconds that redefined his career, and what it takes to build infrastructure in one of the most vulnerable industries. 

From poker tables to billion-dollar launches, Paul’s journey is all about resilience, focus, and a willingness to shoulder enormous responsibility.

The 90-Second Rollercoaster

On a February afternoon in London, Plasma opened its deposits. Ninety seconds later, $1 billion had poured in. What should have been a triumphant moment was instead one of the most stressful experiences of Paul’s life. “At 1:58 p.m. I was probably the most stressed I’ve been in my entire life,” he recalled. “You’re paranoid about everything. The front end getting exploited, the smart contract getting hacked. You push the big green button and hope everything holds.”

The raise was unprecedented: no private deals, no pre-commitments, no guarantees of success. Yet the cap filled almost instantly, and Plasma became one of the most explosive launches in crypto history. Relief, however, was short-lived. “It stays scary even after it’s done,” Paul admitted. “You’re constantly thinking: where’s the ledger, who’s on the multisig?”

From Poker to Plasma

Paul’s ability to manage uncertainty did not begin with Plasma. As a professional poker player, he learned to approach life through probabilities rather than absolutes. Making the right decision did not always guarantee the right outcome, but it built a mindset of resilience. “Poker teaches you to make the right decision even when randomness means you sometimes lose,” he said.

While many of his peers headed into traditional finance, Paul resisted the allure of predictability. The security of a career at a hedge fund or HFT firm could have offered stability, but it lacked independence. Instead, he co-founded Alloy, a B2B crypto infrastructure company. Alloy gave him a front-row seat to the complexities of bringing crypto into traditional finance: endless compliance procedures, procurement delays, and corporate politics. The company was eventually acquired, an outcome Paul described as “fine, but not incredible.” The frustrations of bureaucracy pushed him back toward the heart of crypto, where experimentation and speed still ruled. That choice paved the way for Plasma.

Why Stablecoins Matter

Paul’s conviction is clear: stablecoins are crypto’s most important application. “Stablecoins are the single most interesting sector in all of crypto,” he explained. “The number one use for blockchains is to move value globally and efficiently. Stablecoins are the best means of achieving that.”

He traced their trajectory from Tether’s early role in moving liquidity between exchanges to today’s market led by USDT and USDC. Each stablecoin, he argued, serves a distinct purpose. DAI, USDT, and USDC are not interchangeable but tailored to different users and contexts. What unites them is their potential to transform cross-border commerce, a space where inefficiency remains rampant.

The obstacles, however, are real. Transaction fees on Tron can run several dollars, pricing out smaller transfers. Mainstream platforms like Stripe and Checkout.com are only beginning to take stablecoin settlement seriously. Still, Paul is confident that the tipping point is near. With $250 billion already in circulation, he believes the move to $1 trillion is inevitable.

Building for One Purpose

Plasma is Paul’s answer to the shortcomings of existing infrastructure. Where Ethereum and Solana are designed as general-purpose blockchains, Plasma focuses solely on stablecoins. That singular focus, he believes, allows Plasma to make choices others cannot, whether in architecture, go-to-market strategy, or liquidity design.

The chain is permissionless, so anyone can run a validator. It is fully EVM-compatible, making it easier for developers to integrate. And it introduces a system for gasless transfers of USDT, using a split block architecture to allow near-free payments while guarding against spam. Paul is quick to note that Plasma is not the “Tether chain,” but the alignment with USDT is deliberate. “If you have to choose one stablecoin to focus on, USDT is the obvious choice. It actually has real usage,” he said.

At its core, though, Plasma’s edge is not technology alone. “Crypto is an execution game,” Paul insisted. “You need to be very good at executing.” For him, the differentiator lies in the discipline of shipping, iterating, and earning trust through results.

Risks and Responsibilities

Raising a billion dollars in 90 seconds may look like a victory, but it comes with immense pressure. Security remains an ever-present concern, and regulatory shifts can alter the landscape overnight. Paul acknowledges the risks openly but frames them as part of the job. “We’re comfortable with that pressure,” he said. “It forces us to execute.”

More than 2,200 wallets participated in the raise, a deliberate attempt to ensure genuine distribution rather than a handful of whales or opportunistic airdrop farmers. Sustained usage, Paul argued, will always matter more than short-term noise. “You can tweet as well as you want, but in the end you have to build a product people want to use. Hype follows quality.”

The Bigger Picture

Paul’s story is not just about Plasma. It is about the discipline to walk away from predictable paths, to blend the randomness of poker and the bureaucracy of traditional finance, and to commit fully to an idea that most of the world is still catching up to. Stablecoins, he believes, are the foundation of a new financial system.

His vision is direct: “Winning stablecoin settlement globally.” 

Achieving that will demand relentless focus, precise execution, and a willingness to carry the burden of billions. For builders, the message is simple: success comes from narrowing your focus and following through. For the rest of us, Plasma’s rise is a glimpse of how money itself is being re-engineered for the next generation of commerce.

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