TL;DR
- Ethena’s Open Interest: USDe backing assets must exceed $1B in aggregate open interest, with at least 30% on a single venue.
- Liquidity: Assets require spreads below 0.1%, order book depth two to three times within 1% mid-price, daily volume five to ten times position.
- Approved Assets: XRP, HYPE, and BNB met all thresholds; SUI and ADA were rejected for failing key criteria.
The Ethena Risk Committee has started to implement its Eligible Asset Framework for the backing of USDe’s perpetual futures. This framework establishes minimum requirements for open interest, liquidity, funding stability, and market maturity. By formalizing these criteria, the protocol aims to guarantee adequate market depth, efficient execution, and reliable hedging before adding new assets.
The Ethena Risk Committee have established the Eligible Asset Framework, which represents a new approach to widening approved backing assets specifically for the perpetual futures portion of the collateral backing of USDe.
As part of the new framework, BNB has been approved as… pic.twitter.com/SiT0Dt549E
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) August 22, 2025
Open Interest Requirements
Ethena needs at least $1 billion in total open interest in perpetual futures to maintain market depth on exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and OKX. At least 30% of this OI must be on a single vetted venue, about $0.5 billion, to guarantee execution efficiency and limit slippage. This distribution requirement ensures balanced liquidity, enabling Ethena’s trading team to enter and exit positions without overconcentration or relying on thin order books.
Liquidity Standards
Ethena measures both spot and perpetual futures liquidity through bid-ask spreads, order book depth, and 24-hour volume on venues like Binance and OKX. It requires spreads below 0.1%. The order book depth should be two to three times Ethena’s intended position, staying within 1% of the mid-price. For example, if the position is $10 million, the required depth would be $20 to $30 million. Daily spot volume must be five to ten times the position to enable exits over one or two days without dominating the market.
Funding and Maturity Criteria
Ethena monitors funding rates for perpetual contracts across major exchanges like Binance over one-month, three-month, and six-month periods. If funding sign flips exceed 20% of eight-hour intervals in a three-month window, the asset is flagged unstable. Structural negative funding, below 0% for over seven consecutive days, triggers position reductions. Assets must also have at least 12 months of continuous futures trading with open interest above $500 million, ensuring market maturity and contract reliability.
First Eligible Backing Assets
Ethena applied its Token Filtering Framework and approved XRP, HYPE, and BNB after they met all thresholds for open interest, liquidity, funding, and maturity. SUI and ADA were turned down because they did not meet the liquidity and open interest criteria, even though their correlation and volatility were acceptable. These approvals represent the first practical use of Ethena’s formalized selection process, paving the way for transparent, risk-based USDe backing.
