Breaking: Ethena Labs Launches UStb Stablecoin With BlackRock And Securitize

Ethena Labs on Thursday said it will launch UStb stablecoin collateralized by BlackRock and Securitize, enabling a separate fiat stablecoin product alongside USDe. UStb will invest its reserves in BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) tokenized by Securitize.

Ethena Labs Announces UStb Stablecoin

In an X post on September 26, Ethena Labs announced its newest product offering – UStb. The company added that it will exist as an isolated product and separate from USDe, offering a new product with a differentiated risk profile to USDe for users and exchange partners.

However, USDe can benefit from incorporating UStb during periods of weak funding conditions. USDe backing composition can dynamically adjust between basis positions and liquid stable products in different interest rate environments.

The crypto community has shared repeated concerns with USDe on how the protocol responds to negative funding rate environments. Notably, Ethena’s sUSDe has not endured a single week of negative funding despite bearish conditions over the last 6 months.

If required, Ethena can even close hedging positions on USDe and re-allocate those backing assets to UStb to further reduce risks with negative funding rates.

The introduction of UStb is one of the more important product developments for Ethena to date and we are excited to be working with @securtize to utilize @BlackRock BUIDL as we bring this to market

Why is this significant? https://t.co/Y9CmWORoXl

— G | Ethena (@leptokurtic_) September 26, 2024

ENA Price Shoots Over 16%

ENA price has skyrocketed over 16% in response to UStb stablecoin launch news, with the price currently trading at $0.3659. The 24-hour low and high are $0.3071 and $0.3728, respectively. Furthermore, the trading volume has increased in the last 24 hours.

Derivatives market saw massive buying of the token by traders. Coinglass data indicates ENA futures open interest shoots over 30% in the last 4 hours. Huge buying activity was noticed across exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, and Coinbase, taking the total ENA futures OI to $165.76 million.

Recently, Ethena Labs halted website after a domain hack and urged users to disconnect wallets and avoid transactions until further announcement. Ethena Labs’ domain breach prompts website shutdown, but core protocol and user funds remained secure.