Ethena Labs, the developer behind Ethena (ENA), has announced a significant update: Bitcoin is now added as collateral for its synthetic dollar token, USDe.
With this move, Ethena aims to enhance the scalability of its USDe token, pegged to the dollar, by more than 2.5 times. The project recently distributed airdrops, including some through Binance Launchpool, to its users. This strategic integration of Bitcoin is expected to provide stronger support as Ethena approaches a $10 billion valuation, thereby ensuring a more secure product for its users. The current estimated worth of USDe’s supply stands at around $2 billion.
Ethena Labs emphasized Bitcoin’s superior liquidity and duration profile for delta hedging in comparison to liquid staking tokens. This factor played a pivotal role in the decision to incorporate Bitcoin as a backing asset.
Previously, USDe was solely backed by staked Ethereum (ETH). However, there has been a noticeable uptick in interest among token holders for Bitcoin trading.
According to data from Ethena Labs’ website, Bitcoin’s open interest surged by 150% to $25 billion last year, contributing to USDe’s scaling capacity more than doubling. In contrast, Ethereum’s open interest increased by 100% to $10 billion during the same period.
