- The new “stablecoin” will be backed by the BUIDL tokenization fund from investment giant BlackRock.
- Ethena Labs representatives assured the community of the resilience of the “synthetic dollar” USDe.
USDe issuer Ethena Labs is preparing to launch the UStb stablecoin in collaboration with Securitize, a platform specializing in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).
We are excited to announce Ethena’s newest product offering: UStb
UStb will be fully backed by @Blackrock BUIDL in partnership with @Securitize, enabling a separate fiat stablecoin product alongside USDe
Details below on why this is important: pic.twitter.com/jOIoMef7W3
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) September 26, 2024
“UStb will be fully backed by BUIDL from BlackRock in partnership with Securitize, allowing for a separate fiat stablecoin product alongside USDe,” project representatives noted.
BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity holds assets in US currency, short-term treasury bills, and REPO agreements. Since its launch in March, the AUM of the fund has grown rapidly, making it the largest in its segment (~$522 million).
The total market volume of tokenized securities exceeds $2.2 billion.
USDe
Launched in February, the “synthetic dollar” USDe has become the fifth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, reaching $2.55 billion.
This asset differs from traditional “stablecoins” by employing derivative hedging strategies instead of direct backing with fiat money and/or financial instruments.
USDe uses Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other crypto assets as collateral. A mint and burn system is employed to maintain the peg to the US dollar. Yield is generated through cash-and-carry arbitrage, among other methods.
The community has repeatedly expressed concerns about various risks, including depeg of USDe. For instance, CryptoQuant analysts recommended monitoring the stablecoin’s reserve fund. According to their calculations, under conditions of negative funding rates, the structure can be maintained if the “synthetic dollar” capitalization does not exceed $3 billion.
Ethena’s Response to the Community
Ethena representatives wrote the following:
“Despite the bearish conditions of the past six months, Ethena sUSDe has not experienced a single week of negative funding.”
According to them, the composition of the “synthetic dollar” collateral can be adjusted if necessary. USDe may benefit from the inclusion of UStb “during periods of weak funding conditions.”
“If management deems it necessary and appropriate under negative funding conditions, Ethena can open hedging positions and reallocate these auxiliary assets into UStb to further mitigate risk,” the developers emphasized.
The company also intends to use the new stablecoin as an alternative to USDe for margin collateral on centralized exchanges like Bybit and Bitget, with which it has already partnered.
Previously, attackers targeted the frontend of the Ethena protocol.