Ethena Labs Unveils UStb Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock and Securitize

Ethena Labs announced on Thursday the launch of UStb, a new stablecoin fully collateralized by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund in partnership with Securitize. This offering will exist alongside their existing USDe stablecoin as a separate product with a distinct risk profile.

The company revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that UStb is designed to complement USDe, potentially providing support during periods of weak funding conditions. USDe’s backing composition can dynamically adjust between basis positions and liquid stable products depending on interest rate environments.

This new stablecoin aims to address concerns within the crypto community regarding USDe’s performance in negative funding rate scenarios. Notably, Ethena’s sUSDe has maintained positive funding despite bearish market conditions over the past 6 months.

Ethena Labs explained that if deemed necessary by governance, they could close hedging positions and reallocate backing assets to UStb to further mitigate risks associated with negative funding rate environments.

The announcement has had a positive impact on Ethena’s native token ENA, which surged over 16% in the last 24 hours. At press time, ENA is trading at $0.3659, with a 24-hour range of $0.3071 to $0.3728. Trading volume has also seen a significant increase over the same period.