Ethena Labs is partnering with Flowdesk as its USDe synthetic dollar climbs to a $14 billion market capitalization. This collaboration aims to broaden access to Ethena's USDe and USDtb tokens. Flowdesk, an institutional over-the-counter (OTC) desk that services token issuers, hedge funds, and exchanges, will support trading and reward programs for both stablecoins.
USDe is Ethena's synthetic dollar, which is backed primarily by crypto assets and stabilized using a delta-neutral hedging strategy to maintain its peg to $1. USDtb is backed by real-world assets, mainly BlackRock's tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, and stablecoins, giving it a risk profile similar to fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC and USDT.
The circulating supply of USDe has increased by 21% over the past month, pushing its market capitalization to over $14 billion, making it the third-largest stablecoin after USDT and USDC.
Ethena's growth is partly due to USDe's yield-generation model, which allows holders to earn returns while providing collateral for decentralized finance (DeFi) markets. This yield potential was a key factor in Mega Matrix's $2 billion shelf registration, providing the holding company with the flexibility to acquire Ethena's governance token, ENA. Owning ENA would allow Mega Matrix to participate in governance and capture revenue generated by USDe. In August, Ethena's cumulative revenue surpassed $500 million, bringing the protocol closer to activating its "fee-switch" mechanism, which would distribute a portion of protocol revenue to ENA holders.
Ethena Labs also launched StableCoinX and plans to list on Nasdaq.
Ethena's USDe stablecoin has garnered attention, with its market cap increasing from $140 million to $7.2 billion in a year. Following the passage of the GENIUS Act, Ethena Labs partnered with Anchorage Digital, a U.S. federal crypto bank, to launch USDtb, a GENIUS-compliant, federally regulated stablecoin for retail investors in the United States.
Ethena founder Guy Young noted that USDe's average annualized yield reached 18% in 2024, which is four times that of Circle's interest income. He estimates Ethena occupies 6-10% of the derivatives market and believes it should reach 20-25%, assuming the market does not grow significantly.
Ethena Labs secured $14 million in a funding round earlier in the year, with Dragonfly and Maelstrom, Arthur Hayes' family office, leading the round, valuing the company at $300 million. The funding is set to drive Ethena's expansion, funding the development of a dedicated blockchain and the introduction of its institutional-grade product, iUSDe. A portion of the funds was also used to buy back tokens from early investors.
