Just In: Ethena Announces Partnership With Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial

Ethena Labs has announced a strategic partnership with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project backed by President-elect Donald Trump. The collaboration aims to enhance stablecoin liquidity and boost user rewards across WLFI’s DeFi platforms.

Ethena Partnership With World Liberty Financial

According to an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), a governance proposal has been submitted to integrate Ethena’s sUSDe stablecoin as a core collateral asset in WLFI’s upcoming Aave-based lending and borrowing platform.

This integration, pending approval, would allow WLFI users to benefit from both sUSDe and WLFI token rewards. Ethena Labs stated,

“This partnership will increase stablecoin liquidity and utilization rates on WLFI’s protocol, as seen with sUSDe’s integration on Aave’s core instance.”

The collaboration is expected to strengthen WLFI’s position in the DeFi sector while enhancing the use cases for sUSDe. WLFI has emerged as a notable project, recently expanding its cryptocurrency holdings and shifting towards greater participation in Ethereum-based DeFi activities.

WLFI Expands Ethereum Holdings Amid Stablecoin Swaps

Recent on-chain data reveals that World Liberty Financial has been actively converting its stablecoin reserves into Ethereum (ETH). Over the past several weeks, WLFI has acquired nearly $50 million worth of ETH, using profits from its ongoing WLFI token sale.

The latest transaction occurred on Wednesday, where WLFI purchased 1,285 ETH through CoW Swap, a decentralized exchange. This purchase adds to the project’s ETH reserves, making ETH its largest holding. A wallet associated with WLFI’s Aave fork now holds a total of $73 million worth of cryptocurrencies, including $50 million in ETH and smaller amounts of stablecoins such as USDC and USDT.

Observers speculate that WLFI’s decision to convert stablecoins to ETH signals a strategic shift toward holding ETH as a reserve asset. Ethereum investor Eric Conner commented, “The Trumps are clearly swapping these stables for ETH instead of just sitting in stables.”

WLFI Token Sale and Plans

Since its token sale began on October 15, WLFI has raised $55 million, although this falls short of its $300 million target. The sale allows accredited investors to purchase WLFI tokens using ETH, USDC, and USDT. Proceeds from the sale are managed by a limited liability company set up by the Trump family, which controls 75% of the treasury funds.

The funds raised are being reinvested into DeFi protocols and cryptocurrency assets, as evidenced by WLFI’s growing holdings of ETH and altcoins like AAVE and LINK. These investments align with WLFI’s goal to become a leading DeFi platform for lending and borrowing.

Moreover, President-elect Trump has publicly supported the WLFI project, pledging that it will help establish the United States as a global leader in cryptocurrency adoption. The project’s integration of sUSDe from Ethena Labs is expected to further enhance its lending and borrowing capabilities.

Ethena Launches New Stablecoin, USDtb

Amid this partnership, Ethena (ENA) price has seen a bearish turn in the last 24 hours with the price swaying between an intra-day high and low of $1.15 and $1.04, respectively. At press time, ENA price was exchanging hands at $1.1o, a 4.50% decline from the day’s high.

Concurrently, Ethena Labs has recently introduced a new stablecoin, USDtb, backed primarily by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.

USDtb holds over 90% of its reserves in tokenized money market funds invested in U.S. government debt and cash equivalents. The remaining reserves are held in stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products.

USDtb functions similarly to other stablecoins like USDC and USDT, providing a secure and stable value for users in the DeFi ecosystem. Ethena’s commitment to maintaining robust reserves aims to ensure the stability and reliability of its stablecoins, including sUSDe.