Ethena Rolls Out Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL Token

What to know:

  • The $6 billion DeFi protocol Ethena is launching its stablecoin USDtb backed by BlackRock and Securitize’s tokenized money market fund BUIDL.
  • The new offering aims to help stabilize the protocol’s yield-generating USDe token and mitigate risks when crypto markets turn bearish.
  • Ethena aims to get USDtb accepted as collateral on centralized exchanges and applied for allocation in Sky’s $1 billion tokenized asset investment plan.

As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience navigating the volatile digital asset market, I find the latest move by Ethena intriguing. The introduction of USDtb, a stablecoin backed by heavyweights like BlackRock and Securitize, is an innovative approach to stabilizing yield-generating tokens like USDe, especially during bearish markets.

On Monday, the red-hot DeFi venture Ethena announced the launch of its latest stablecoin designed to support the stability of its primary USDe token when cryptocurrency markets experience downturns.

The USDtb token is designed to maintain a consistent value of one dollar and stores approximately 90% of its funds in BUIDL, which is a tokenized version of the money market fund issued jointly by financial titan BlackRock and tokenization specialist Securitize.

As the demand for various stablecoin alternatives skyrockets at an unprecedented pace, I, as the founder of Ethena, recognized a distinct chance to introduce a unique product that would provide our users with a risk profile unlike USDe, all while keeping them securely within our reliable platform.

One of the DeFi platforms experiencing rapid growth this year is Ethena, which has amassed almost $6 billion from users since its debut in early 2024. The platform’s primary token, USDe, often referred to as a “synthetic dollar,” maintains a consistent $1 value. This token yields returns to investors by borrowing funds and shorting cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and solana (SOL) through perpetual swaps. During bull markets, this investment approach can deliver impressive yields, currently estimated at 27% per year. However, when the crypto market experiences a bearish trend with consistently negative funding rates, it can result in losses.

According to the Ethena team, the latest feature enables them to switch the assets supporting USDe-based derivative contracts to USDtb when funding rates are unfavorable, thereby reducing risk.

The protocol aims to establish USDt as a potential form of security for margin trades on centralized platforms in the future.

Ethena has brought on board Copper, Zodia Custody, Komainu, and Coinbase Institutional as custodians for USDtb, as stated in a recent press announcement. The liquidity providers for this token are Jump, Cumberland, Amber Group, GSR Markets, SCB Limited, among others.

Alongside other applicants, Ethena joined the Tokenization Grand Prix competition by MakerDAO, now known as Sky’s, which intends to allocate up to a billion dollars towards tokenized real-world assets (RWA) using the new USDtb stablecoin.

Last weekend, World Liberty Financial – a DeFi project that recently caught President-elect Donald Trump’s eye – bought approximately $500,000 worth of governance tokens for the protocol. Data from blockchain revealed this purchase. As a result, the value of ENA surged by 25% over the weekend. However, it gave back some of those gains on Monday.

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2024-12-16 17:21