TL;DR
- Ethena Foundation raised $100 million in a private sale of ENA tokens with investors such as Franklin Templeton and Polychain.
- The funds will finance a new blockchain and the launch of iUSDe, a token designed for financial institutions.
- iUSDe aims to adapt the USDe model to regulated markets through programmable transfer restrictions.
Ethena Foundation completed a private sale of ENA tokens totaling $100 million. The transaction, carried out in December, included investors such as Franklin Templeton, Polychain, Pantera, Dragonfly, and F-Prime, Fidelity’s venture capital arm. The average sale price was set at $0.40 per token, while its current trading price stands at $0.42, far from its December peak of $1.27.
The funds raised will support the development of a new blockchain within its ecosystem and the launch of iUSDe, a product designed for financial institutions. A portion of the capital was also used to buy back tokens from previous investors to adjust the cost basis in the capitalization table.
Ethena has gained significant traction in the sector thanks to USDe, its decentralized synthetic stablecoin, which has reached a circulating supply of $5.9 billion. Its new initiative, iUSDe, seeks to adapt this model to traditional finance.
Ethena Prepares New Products for the Market
Like sUSDe, its crypto-user-focused version, this new token provides staking rewards. However, it incorporates a wrapper mechanism that allows for programmable transfer restrictions. This feature facilitates its adoption by investment funds, ETFs, brokers, and other regulated entities.
Ethena’s reputation continues to grow. In February 2024, its development team, Ethena Labs, secured $14 million in strategic funding, reaching a $300 million valuation. The round included participation from Dragonfly and the family office of BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes.
With the creation of its own blockchain and a product tailored for institutions, Ethena aims to expand beyond the crypto ecosystem. iUSDe’s compatibility with traditional regulatory frameworks could open new opportunities for integrating its infrastructure into established financial markets
