Ethena Raises $100M to Expand Institutional Stablecoin

Ethena Raises $100M to Expand Institutional Stablecoin

Ethena has raised $100 million in a private ENA token sale to expand its synthetic dollar and develop iUSDe, a stablecoin meant for institutions. The December funding round attracted investors such as Franklin Templeton, F-Prime Capital, Dragonfly, and Pantera, with tokens sold at just under $0.40 each.

The iUSDe token will feature transfer restrictions to comply with regulatory frameworks and allow traditional financial firms to integrate stablecoins into their operations. Founder Guy Young stated that the new product would “enable traditional finance an efficient entry into the product without ever needing to touch crypto rails.”

Ethena’s current stablecoin, USDe, has surged to a $6 billion market cap, making it the third-largest behind USDT and USDC. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, USDe generates yield through basis trading strategies, offering returns that have peaked at 60% during bullish cycles.

With the new capital, Ethena aims to build its own blockchain and expand its synthetic dollar model to regulated markets and ETFs. Crypto fund Maelstrom, led by Arthur Hayes, has increased its exposure, citing USDe as a key hedge against volatility and holding "copious amounts of dry powder ready to buy the dip on Bitcoin."

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Bybit Fully Replenishes $1.4 Billion in Stolen ETH

Bybit has restored its 1:1 asset backing after the $1.4 billion hack, gathering funds through loans, over-the-counter (OTC) purchases, and direct exchange deposits. On-chain data from Lookonchain shows Bybit acquired 446,870 ETH worth $1.23 billion, including $437 million in OTC purchases from Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and Wintermute and $304 million from Binance and MEXC-linked wallets.

CEO Ben Zhou assured users that an audited proof-of-reserve report will be released soon, confirming full recovery. “All deposits and withdrawals have fully recovered to normal levels—with total deposits slightly exceeding withdrawals,” Zhou stated. Meanwhile, blockchain analysts continue tracking the stolen assets, which have been linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

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Pump.fun Tests Own AMM, Threatens Raydium's Dominance

Pump.fun appears to be developing its own automated market maker (AMM), potentially cutting Raydium out of the trading cycle. Crypto watchers spotted a test site, featuring a swap function alongside deposit and withdrawal options. “It seems they are planning to have Pump tokens graduate to their own pools instead of Raydium,” trader @trenchdiver101 observed.

Raydium’s RAY token has plummeted 28% in 24 hours as traders anticipate a loss of trading volume and fee revenue. Historically, Pump.fun tokens automatically migrated to Raydium once reaching a $69,000 market cap, but the new AMM could keep liquidity within Pump’s ecosystem. While Raydium still facilitates over $500 million in daily trading volume, analysts speculate its market share might dive.

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SEC Drops Robinhood Probe, Discusses Policy Shift

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its investigation into Robinhood Crypto with no enforcement action, marking a major victory for the trading platform. Robinhood’s Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher criticized the probe, stating, “This investigation should never have been opened”, arguing the company never facilitated securities transactions.

Robinhood’s exoneration comes as the SEC drops multiple high-profile crypto cases, including investigations into Coinbase and OpenSea. The newly established crypto task force, led by Hester Peirce, has been engaging with key industry players, including Michael Saylor, advocating for clearer regulatory frameworks and digital asset classifications.

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Data of the Day

Berachain’s total value locked (TVL) has shot up to $3.26 billion, surpassing both Arbitrum and Base to claim the sixth-largest position in DeFi. The surge, reflects the network’s growing liquidity and adoption, with Berachain now holding nearly 3% of the total DeFi market’s locked assets. The Berachain (BERA) token currently trades at $6.75, with a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $3.3 billion.

Leading Berachain’s expansion is Infrared Finance, a liquid staking protocol with $1.52 billion TVL, followed by Kodiak DEX at $1.12 billion and Concrete, a yield farming protocol with $800 million. The network’s proof-of-liquidity model incentivizes users to keep capital within the ecosystem, reinforcing a self-sustaining financial loop.

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More Breaking News

• Non-KYC exchange eXch denies laundering funds from the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, despite a 900% spike in its ETH reserves.
• Ethereum developers will launch the Pectra upgrade on the Holesky testnet, for new validator rewards, account abstraction, and L2 scaling improvements.
• Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed his crypto portfolio, holding 98.5% in BNB and just 1.3% in Bitcoin.
• Strategy has acquired 20,356 Bitcoin for nearly $2 billion, bringing its total holdings to almost 500,000 BTC.
• Crypto neo-bank Infini lost $50 million in a hack allegedly carried out by a former developer exploiting administrative privileges.
• Dubai’s financial regulator has officially recognized USDC and EURC as the first stablecoins under its crypto token regime.

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