Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
Ethena: USDe, a synthetic dollar hedged with futures, and ENA
How a delta-neutral ‘yield-bearing dollar’ works
Ethena is a protocol that runs USDe, a synthetic dollar that holds crypto and shorts an equal amount in futures so price moves cancel out. ENA is Ethena’s governance token.
1. Who built it
Ethena Labs, founded by Guy Young, began building Ethena in 2023. The idea is often traced to a 2023 essay by BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes proposing a dollar hedged with futures. USDe opened to the public on Ethereum mainnet in February 2024.
ENA launched with an airdrop on April 2, 2024; total supply is 15 billion. Holders weigh in on matters such as risk committee seats and new collateral, and staked ENA (sENA) earns ecosystem rewards. On the Crypto Nation map, ENA stands in Ethereum City (the capital), as it was first issued on Ethereum.
2. How USDe holds $1
Approved institutions deposit ETH (including staked ETH), bitcoin or stablecoins, and Ethena opens matching short perpetual futures so gains and losses offset, a ‘delta-neutral’ position. Collateral stays with outside custodians while exchanges only get margin rights (off-exchange settlement). Only vetted, whitelisted entities mint and redeem directly; everyone else trades USDe on exchanges.
Staking USDe gives sUSDe, which accrues staking rewards and funding payments, the fees long traders pay shorts in perpetual markets. A reserve fund is kept for periods of negative funding. In December 2024 Ethena also launched USDtb, a stablecoin backed mainly by BlackRock’s tokenized Treasury fund BUIDL.
3. Ecosystem and milestones
USDe and sUSDe spread to lending markets such as Aave, yield markets such as Pendle and many other chains. In March 2025 German regulator BaFin cited deficiencies at Ethena’s German entity during its MiCA review, and Ethena wound it down. In July 2025 it teamed up with federally chartered Anchorage Digital to issue USDtb under the US GENIUS Act.
In 2025 a plan was also unveiled to list StablecoinX, a company buying ENA, on Nasdaq. A ‘fee switch’ sharing protocol revenue with ENA holders has been discussed in stages, tied to set conditions. Ethena is widely cited as an experiment in yield-bearing dollars.
4. Things to know
USDe is not backed one-to-one by bank deposits or Treasuries; a trading strategy holds it near $1. Losses can occur if funding stays negative or a custodian or exchange fails. In the October 10, 2025 crash it briefly traded far below $1 on one major exchange, though Ethena said minting and redemption kept working.
Minting is limited to approved entities and hedging is run by the Ethena team, so there are centralized elements. USDe’s legal status in the US and Europe depends on regulators’ interpretation. ENA allocations to the team and investors unlock on a set schedule, which affects supply.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.