Ethena, a prominent player in the stablecoin space, is preparing to launch a new stablecoin called UStb, which will be backed by BlackRock’s tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund, BUIDL. This announcement comes as Ethena’s existing synthetic stablecoin, USDe, continues to grow, now ranking as the fifth-largest stablecoin by market cap with a $2.6 billion circulating supply.
Introducing UStb with a New Risk Profile
UStb is designed to function like a traditional stablecoin, with its reserves invested in BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which includes U.S. dollars, short-term U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements. Ethena’s team has positioned UStb as an alternative to USDe, offering a completely different risk profile. While USDe relies on derivative hedging strategies, UStb is expected to provide more stability by being backed by tangible government securities.
Expanding the Tokenized Government Securities Market
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, tokenized on Ethereum, has quickly grown to become the largest tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund, with over $522 million in assets under management. Ethena’s collaboration with real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize further underscores the rapid growth of the tokenized government securities market, which now totals over $2 billion.
Ethena plans to use UStb to support USDe during periods of market stress, helping the stablecoin maintain its peg. UStb will also be used as collateral on centralized exchanges like Bybit and Bitget, providing a flexible alternative for traders.
Source: The Block
