Ethena's Synthetic Dollar, USDe, Attracts Major Investment And Intense Growth

By: Isha Das

Ethena Labs' synthetic dollar, USDe, has experienced an accelerated growth and attracted significant investment. After its public mainnet launch on February 19, USDe's total value locked has experienced an exponential 44% surge over the past week and an impressive 409% increase over the last month, reaching $838 million. Notably, USDe has climbed to be one of the top 10 stablecoins by market cap in less than three weeks.

The synthetic dollar's unique model has grabbed the attention of various major players in the crypto arena including Arthur Hayes, Brevan Howard, Franklin Templeton, Galaxy Digital, and Binance Labs, with a collective investment reaching a sum of $14 million. Among the investors, Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has speculated that USDe might someday outrank Tether to become the largest stablecoin in the crypto market, although he acknowledges that this might take several years.

Despite the impressive growth and high-profile investments, Ethena Labs' USDe still trails behind established blockchain networks in terms of revenue. For instance, Tron and Ethereum reported revenues of $38.6 million and $182.5 million, respectively. It's also noteworthy that the synthetic dollar is offering a considerable 67.2% yield on its staking, attracting further interest from the market.

The rapid ascension of USDe to be among the top 10 stablecoins is attributed to its enticing staking yield, which Ethena boasts at a substantial 67.2%. The synthetic dollar also holds a significant portion of the global ether perpetual futures open interest, making up nearly 8.69% with an average funding rate standing at a striking 58.35%.