2026-01-17 03:27:32

On the day the mainnet launched on September 25, 2025, XPL surged to $1.5~$1.68 within a few minutes, pushing the FDV close to $17 billion. At that time, the market was filled with voices like "a new era of stablecoin infrastructure," and some even boldly claimed "this is the next killer app that could disrupt the existing landscape."

And then... everyone knows what happened next.

Fast forward to now (January 16, 2026), XPL is fluctuating in the $0.14~$0.142 range, down more than 91.5% from its ATH. From a peak market cap of $17 billion, it has shrunk directly to less than $300 million (the circulating market cap is even worse, roughly $250~$290 million).

What exactly happened in these just over 100 days? Let’s break down the entire timeline.

**A Perfect Start (September to early October 2025)**

The story at that time seemed flawless: produced by Tether/Bitfinex, zero-fee USDT cross-chain transfers, EVM compatibility layered on Bitcoin security, endorsements from top institutions like Framework and Founders Fund. The public sale and IDO launched simultaneously across multiple platforms, raising $250 million in liquidity within the first hour—setting a record at the time.

The mood during that period can be summarized in one sentence: "Tether is going to build its own chain, and this time it really has a chance to shake up the current stablecoin ecosystem." Supply and demand quickly became unbalanced, and combined with various FOMO, the price naturally skyrocketed.

XPL-2.58%

BTC-0.11%

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PancakeFlippa

· 7h ago

170 billion FDV down to 300 million, how much of a story can that tell? Laughing to death --- Tether's endorsement just dares to go all in? Really treating institutions like gods --- Another "killer app," next time be smarter, everyone --- From 1.68 to 0.14 in 100 days, this speed run is a bit outrageous... --- Zero fee cross-chain transfers sound unbelievable, there's no such thing as a free lunch, understand? --- 2.5 billion liquidity entered in the first hour, is it really all gone now? --- FOMO really can kill people, several friends around me have fallen for it --- How did framework and Founders Fund get it wrong? I don't understand --- A new era of stablecoin ecosystem? Uh... maybe in the next cycle, haha --- Shrunk from 170 billion to less than 300 million, how many people must have lost money? --- Even the most flawless story framework can't withstand the reaction at mainnet launch

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DecentralizedElder

· 7h ago

Damn, 17 billion directly smashed down to 300 million, this is Web3 Another FOMO feast, Tether backing can't stop the decline From myth to joke in 100 days, truly impressive No matter how beautiful the story is, it can't compete with the speed of dumping How about zero-fee cross-chain transfers? In the end, zeroing out proves effective

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NullWhisperer

· 8h ago

tbh the whole "zero-fee usdt bridge" narrative was already theoretically exploitable from day one... just nobody wanted to audit the actual implementation apparently. classic.

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failed_dev_successful_ape

· 8h ago

One hundred days from 17 billion to 300 million, this is our story haha --- Another Tether dream, woke up really quickly --- No matter how perfect the framework is, it can't hide the essence of a Ponzi scheme, to be honest --- 2.5 billion in liquidity in the first hour sounds impressive, but it's really just about the speed of rushing in to buy the dip --- Framework and Founders Fund backing, so what? Still can't escape the 91.5% death spiral --- Zero-fee cross-chain hype has been played out long ago, why do people still believe it --- Stablecoin infrastructure killer app, ha, how many times do we have to hear this phrase before learning the lesson --- From $1.68 to $0.14, now it's truly stable, stabilized at the bottom --- Supply and demand imbalance FOMO routine, keep changing coin names to continue the pump and dump, everyone knows this trick --- Tether-related projects should run, that's the only thing I've learned

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