New Product Aims to Attract Traditional Finance Institutions
Ethena, a blockchain platform, is gearing up to launch its new crypto-based product, iUSDe, which targets traditional finance (TradFi) institutions. The company plans to roll out the new product in February, with a primary focus on collaborating with TradFi distribution partners.
Introducing iUSDe: A Simple Wrapper Contract
Built on Ethena’s synthetic dollar, sUSDe, iUSDe introduces a ‘simple wrapper contract’ that adds transfer restrictions at the token level. This innovative approach is part of Ethena’s 2025 roadmap, published on January 3.
Roadmap Reveals Key Objectives for Q1 2025
According to the roadmap, Ethena’s primary goal for the first quarter of 2025 is to collaborate with TradFi distribution partners to make iUSDe accessible to their clients. The company plans to announce these partners by the end of January.
Ethena’s Primary Focus for Q1 2025
"The singular focus for Q1 2025 will be working with traditional finance distribution partners to enable their clients to access iUSDe," Ethena emphasized in its roadmap.
Target Audience: Asset Managers and Institutional Investors
The product’s main target audience includes asset managers, private credit funds, exchange-traded products, private investment trusts, and prime brokers. These institutions are expected to benefit from the yield-generating capabilities of iUSDe.
The Potential for Disruption
Ethena’s sUSDe offers a 10% annual percentage yield (APY) to over 368,000 investors, who have invested over $5.85 billion in the synthetic dollar, according to Ethena’s data.
The Wealth Preservation Potential of iUSDe
A yield-bearing synthetic dollar could attract significant attention from TradFi participants, considering the massive size of the fixed-income markets, which are the largest liquid investment class in the world. With a $190 trillion market size, the potential demand for a yield-generating dollar product is substantial.
The Roadmap Predicts Massive Demand
According to Ethena’s roadmap, the demand for iUSDe could be "several orders of magnitude larger than the entire crypto market combined, including Bitcoin." This is why Ethena believes that the next logical step for these entities following ETFs is a dollar savings product.
The Futures Basis: A Market Large Enough to Meet Demand
The roadmap adds, "And that is why the next logical step for these entities following the ETFs is a dollar savings product. The futures basis is the only market large enough in crypto with the capacity for their level of demand in a dollar format."
How iUSDe Generates Yield
Ethena’s synthetic dollar generates yield via staking returns and shorting Ether (ETH) perpetual futures contracts, according to Guy Young, the founder of Ethena Labs.
Ethena’s Rapid Growth
Ethena has been making waves in the crypto space with its rapid adoption. The company was the second-fastest protocol to surpass the $100 million revenue milestone in crypto history. It took Ethena 251 days to generate the first $100 million revenue, compared to second place, memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, which surpassed the milestone in just 217 days.
Ethena’s Synthetic Dollar: A Success Story
USDe became the crypto industry’s third-largest US dollar-based product in just 10 months, behind Circle’s USDC (USDC) and market leader, Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin. This illustrates Ethena’s rapid adoption and success in the crypto space.
Conclusion
Ethena’s new product, iUSDe, is poised to make a significant impact on the traditional finance industry. With its innovative wrapper contract and yield-generating capabilities, iUSDe has the potential to disrupt the fixed-income markets and attract massive demand from institutional investors. As Ethena continues to grow and innovate in the crypto space, it will be exciting to see how this new product contributes to its success.
