Ethena rockets to $290 million in revenue, seeks SEC clarity on USDe

Ethena Labs reached $290.2 cardinal in full protocol revenue connected July 9, trailing lone Tether, Circle, and Sky among stablecoin issuers. 

Token Terminal information amusement that the stablecoin issuer reached $100 cardinal successful cumulative gross 251 days aft its launch, making it the second-fastest protocol to transverse this threshold.

Daily fees averaged $3.1 cardinal during the past period arsenic traders continued to mint and hedge the synthetic-dollar token USDe. Ethena’s way to nine-figure gross took 251 days, faster than Uniswap’s 980-day sprint successful 2020 but slower than memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, which deed the people successful 217 days precocious past year. 

Core income is generated by carrying agelong spot and abbreviated perpetual futures positions crossed aggregate exchanges, a delta-neutral strategy that converts funding-rate spreads into protocol net credited to stakers of the output token sUSDe.

Back-end Treasury information shows that 94% of backing assets stay connected centralized venues, wherever Ethena’s automated execution strategy balances collateral and hedges successful existent time. The remaining collateral is held successful liquid-staking tokens to seizure staking rewards portion maintaining a neutral nett exposure. 

The protocol redirects 20% of gross fees to bargain ENA connected the unfastened market, a mechanics that has burned 58 cardinal tokens since February, according to on-chain trackers.

SEC dialog connected outgo stablecoin status

Ethena’s General Counsel, Zach Rosenberg, and attorneys from Morrison Cohen met with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Crypto Task Force connected July 1 to petition clarity connected “synthetic dollars,” specified arsenic USDe. 

A gathering memorandum released by the SEC shows that the squad argued that USDe functions arsenic a outgo instrumentality alternatively than a information due to the fact that holders bash not trust connected the issuer’s efforts for nett and due to the fact that redemption rights way underlying reserves, not the issuer’s balance-sheet performance. 

The submission cites 2 pending bills, the GENIUS Act and the STABLE Act, that would carve retired a national licensing lane for outgo stablecoin issuers. Ethena told unit that USDe falls extracurricular some drafts due to the fact that the token tin fluctuate somewhat astir $1 and carries nary ineligible committedness of par redemption, leaving it successful regulatory limbo.

Company representatives urged the committee to dainty synthetic dollars arsenic a abstracted people and to coordinate with slope regulators if Congress finalizes a outgo stablecoin framework. 

Ethena remains barred from US retail organisation pending ceremonial guidance, truthful caller dollar inflows chiefly travel from offshore funds and market-making desks that hedge their vulnerability connected centralized exchanges. 

The protocol’s gross gait slowed successful May erstwhile mean perpetual backing spreads compressed beneath an 8% annualized rate. Still, interest intake rebounded to $3.8 cardinal per time successful aboriginal July arsenic renewed long-bias returned the ground to double-digit territory.

Ethena’s petition for ceremonial SEC feedback remains nether review, according to the gathering log.

The station Ethena rockets to $290 cardinal successful revenue, seeks SEC clarity connected USDe appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.