Ethena Rolls Out Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock's BUIDL Token

The protocol's governance token ENA rallied over the weekend as Donald Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial invested in the token.

Updated Dec 16, 2024, 2:00 p.m. UTCPublished Dec 16, 2024, 1:42 p.m. UTC

Red-hot decentralized finance (DeFi) project Ethena said Monday it is rolling out its new stablecoin that aims to help stabilize the protocol's flagship USDe token when crypto markets turn bearish.

The USDtb token aims to keep a steady $1 price and holds 90% of its reserves in BUIDL, the tokenized money market fund issued by asset management behemoth BlackRock and tokenization firm Securitize.

"In light of the rapidly accelerating demand for different stablecoin options, we saw a clear opportunity to provide a new product that offers users an entirely different risk profile from USDe without them having to leave our trusted ecosystem,” Ethena founder Guy Young said in a statement.

Ethena is one of the fastest-growing DeFi platforms this year, attracting nearly $6 billion of user funds since its public launch in early 2024. The protocol's flagship token USDe, marketed as a "synthetic dollar" with a steady $1 price, generates yield to investors by shorting bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) perpetual swaps and farming the funding rates. This investment strategy offers lofty yields – currently 27% annualized – when crypto markets are in bull mode, but can quickly turn unprofitable when things turn bearish with persistently negative funding rates.

The new offering will allow Ethena close the underlying derivatives positions behind USDe and divert the backing assets to USDtb during periods of negative funding rates and mitigating risks, the Ethena team explained.

The protocol also aspires to get USDtb accepted as collateral in the future for margin trading on centralized exchanges.

Read more: Tokenized Treasuries: A Game-Changer for Collateral in Crypto Markets

Ethena enlisted Copper, Zodia Custody, Komainu, and Coinbase Institutional as custodians for USDtb, according to a press release. Liquidity providers for the token include Jump, Cumberland, Amber Group, GSR Markets and SCB Limited.

Ethena also applied with the new USDtb stablecoin for Sky's, formerly MakerDAO, so-called Tokenization Gran Prix program that aims to invest up to $1 billion funds in tokenized real-world asset (RWA) products.

The protocol's governance token recently garnered the attention of President-elect Donald Trump DeFi project World Liberty Financial, which purchased some $500,000 worth of tokens on Saturday, blockchain data showed. ENA subsequently rallied 25% over the weekend before paring some of the advance on Monday.

Krisztian Sandor

Krisztian Sandor recently graduated from NYU's business and economic reporter program as a Fulbright fellow and worked with Reuters and Forbes previously. Originally from Budapest, Hungary, he is now based in New York. He holds BTC and ETH.